Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Detecting relevant markers at the clinical point-of-care may facilitate disease prevention and rapid treatment. Medical fields in which samples contain a limited amount of tissue or fluid require point-of-care technologies with improved sensitivity and specificity. This Collection assembles original research on fluidics-based platforms made of paper or other low-cost materials to precisely manipulate small sample volumes, with a focus on their clinical applications.
Detecting clinically relevant diagnostic biomarkers, suitable for point-of-care detection, may facilitate rapid treatment and prevention of disease. However, medical diagnosis for which there are limited quantities of testable tissue or fluid, require point-of-care technologies with superior sensitivity and specificity. The purpose of this Editorial is to provide an overview of the Collection’s content, comprising original research into fluidics-based diagnostic platforms—specifically those made of paper or other low-cost materials, that can suitably operate with tiny sample volumes from mL to nL. In particular, we will focus on the clinical applications of such research, with potential uses in a number of fields including combating the COVID-19 pandemic for instance.