Optical detection strategies for centrifugal microfluidic platforms

Centrifugal microfluidic systems have become one of the principal platforms for implementing bioanalytical assays, most notably for biomedical point-of-care diagnostics. These so-called ‘lab-on-a-disc’ systems primarily utilise the rotationally controlled centrifugal field in combination with capillary forces to automate a range of laboratory unit operations (LUOs) for sample preparation, such as metering, aliquoting, mixing and extraction for biofluids as well as sorting, isolation and counting of bioparticles. These centrifugal microfluidic LUOs have been regularly surveyed in the literature. However, even though absolutely essential to provide true sample-to-answer functionality of lab-on-a-disc platforms, systematic examination of associated, often optical, read-out technologies has been so far neglected. This review focusses on the history and state-of-the-art of optical read-out strategies for centrifugal microfluidic platforms, arising (commercial) application potential and future opportunities.