Measurement of platelet responsiveness using antibody-coated magnetic beads for lab-on-a-chip applications.

We investigate novel methods for the quantification of platelet responsiveness that are suited for implementation in lab-on-a-chip devices. Magnetic beads are convenient carriers for rapid capture and manipulation of biological cells in a miniaturized system. In this article, we demonstrate that antibody-coated magnetic beads can be used to quantify platelet responsiveness. We use anti-CD62P coated beads to capture activated platelets from samples stimulated with a PAR-1 specific agonist SFLLRN, also known as thrombin receptor activator peptide. The responsiveness of the platelets is analyzed via the remaining unbound platelets in the solution and compared to a reference method in which the number of activated platelets is analyzed via fluorescent labeling. The effective concentrations for platelet activation are in agreement for the two assay types, proving that platelet responsiveness can be quantified using antibody-coated magnetic beads. We discuss the outlook for application in lab-on-a-chip devices.