Recent advances in microfluidic technologies for the detection of Alzheimer's disease biomarkers: toward point-of-care neurodiagnostic

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. It poses a major global health challenge due to its increasing prevalence and lack of early diagnostic tools. Conventional diagnostic approaches such as cerebrospinal fluid analysis and neuroimaging are invasive, expensive, and not well-suited for large-scale screening. In recent years, microfluidic technologies have emerged as a transformative platform for the early, rapid, and minimally invasive detection of AD biomarkers. Recent progress in the development of microfluidic systems for detecting key AD biomarkers includes amyloid-beta, phosphorylated tau, neurofilament light chain, and exosome-associated microRNAs. Herein, we discuss various microfluidic formats, including lab-on-a-chip, paper-based devices, droplet microfluidics, and organ-on-a-chip, and their integration with detection modalities such as electrochemical sensing, fluorescence, and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Recent advances and challenges in clinical translation, and future directions involving AI-driven analysis and multi-omics integration are presented. This review underscores the promise of microfluidic platforms in enabling point-of-care, personalised diagnostics for Alzheimer's disease accelerating the transition from bench to bedside.