Single laser-detector based multiplex fluorescence measurement in droplet microfluidics using on-chip fibre optics

Multiplexed fluorescence detection is of immense value in the field of biomedical diagnostics. However, increasing the fluorescence detection capacity of devices increases the complexity and cost of the device manifold. With the aim of developing an affordable point-of care diagnostic device, we have combined the power of droplet microfluidics with our ability to optical interrogate cells using fibre optics on chip. We present here a novel method to collect multiple fluorescence signals from the same droplet using a single fibre-coupled laser for illumination with only one detector for signal acquisition.