Detection of Trichinella Larvae using a Microfluidic-Based Flow-Through Nematode Filter

Trichinellosis is a parasitic disease caused by Trichinella spp., which is not only a public health hazard by affecting humans but also represents an economic problem in the production of porcine animal and food safety. The detection of Trichinella larvae at the slaughterhouse is regulated by the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1375 and carried out in a laboratory accredited according to the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 international standard. We have developed a microfluidic-based flow-through nematode filter (FTNF) to detect Trichinella larvae. The working principle is based on deterministic filtration using micropillar and microcapillary system. Each microfluidic structure has one inlet and one outlet. The fundamental component of this devices is a central chamber, which is surrounded by rectangular cross-section microcapillaries. In the central chamber, micropillars are positioned in a circular manner to increase filtration efficiency by providing an isobaric pressure distribution along the entire filter system. The filtration efficiency was measured at different flow rates from 50 ml/h up to 200 ml/h. The isolated nematodes can be manipulated to next-stage analysis (e.g., genetic analysis, drug screening, enzymatic reactions).