A quantitative rapid test for urine creatinine via Fenton's reaction and a self-driven microfluidic device

Hogi Hartanto; Jiaheng Li; Cheuk Chun Szeto; Ting-Hsuan Chen

doi:10.1039/d6lc00249h

A quantitative rapid test for urine creatinine via Fenton's reaction and a self-driven microfluidic device

Hogi Hartanto
, Jiaheng Li
, Cheuk Chun Szeto
, Ting-Hsuan Chen^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

Abstract

Urine creatinine plays a pivotal role both as an indicator for kidney impairment and as a normalizer for other urine markers to account for variations in urine volume. Here, we report a quantitative rapid test that converts the urinary creatinine level into a length of a visual bar on a microfluidic device. Hydroxyl radicals in Fenton's reaction is used to cleave an oligonucleotide linker designed to bind magnetic microparticles (MMPs) and polystyrene microparticles (PMPs). Due to creatinine's inhibition to hydroxyl radicals, the creatinine level is reflected by the increase of bound microparticles. Measured by the length of PMP accumulation after magnetic separation on the microfluidic device, we achieved a limit of detection (LOD) of 20.11 mg dL⁻¹, with high tolerance to interfering factors and a wide pH range. Comparison with the standard method using 21 clinical urine samples yielded a concordance correlation of 0.92, indicating good accuracy and clinical compatibility. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2026.

Original language	English
Number of pages	9
Journal	Lab on a Chip
Online published	9 May 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1039/d6lc00249h
Publication status	Online published - 9 May 2026

Funding

We would like to express our gratitude to Cathy Luk for assisting in the collection and preliminary preparation of the urine samples. This work was supported in part by Shenzhen Medical Research Fund, The Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation (SMART) (D2401007), Research Grants Council (HLCA/M-113/25 and CityU 11218025), CityUHK Institute of Digital Medicine (IDM ref. no: 9229501-3-CTH), Tung Biomedical Sciences Centre (9609336), Guangdong Natural Science Fund, The Guangdong Science and Technology Department (2025A1515011202), Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality (JCYJ20240813153115021), InnoHK Project at Hong Kong Centre for Cerebro-cardiovascular Health Engineering (COCHE) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (research accounts 69006662 and 6905134).

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RGC-funded

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title = "A quantitative rapid test for urine creatinine via Fenton's reaction and a self-driven microfluidic device",

abstract = "Urine creatinine plays a pivotal role both as an indicator for kidney impairment and as a normalizer for other urine markers to account for variations in urine volume. Here, we report a quantitative rapid test that converts the urinary creatinine level into a length of a visual bar on a microfluidic device. Hydroxyl radicals in Fenton's reaction is used to cleave an oligonucleotide linker designed to bind magnetic microparticles (MMPs) and polystyrene microparticles (PMPs). Due to creatinine's inhibition to hydroxyl radicals, the creatinine level is reflected by the increase of bound microparticles. Measured by the length of PMP accumulation after magnetic separation on the microfluidic device, we achieved a limit of detection (LOD) of 20.11 mg dL−1, with high tolerance to interfering factors and a wide pH range. Comparison with the standard method using 21 clinical urine samples yielded a concordance correlation of 0.92, indicating good accuracy and clinical compatibility. This journal is {\textcopyright} The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2026.",

author = "Hogi Hartanto and Jiaheng Li and Szeto, \{Cheuk Chun\} and Ting-Hsuan Chen",

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language = "English",

journal = "Lab on a Chip",

issn = "1473-0197",

publisher = "Royal Society of Chemistry",

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T1 - A quantitative rapid test for urine creatinine via Fenton's reaction and a self-driven microfluidic device

AU - Hartanto, Hogi

AU - Li, Jiaheng

AU - Szeto, Cheuk Chun

AU - Chen, Ting-Hsuan

PY - 2026/5/9

Y1 - 2026/5/9

N2 - Urine creatinine plays a pivotal role both as an indicator for kidney impairment and as a normalizer for other urine markers to account for variations in urine volume. Here, we report a quantitative rapid test that converts the urinary creatinine level into a length of a visual bar on a microfluidic device. Hydroxyl radicals in Fenton's reaction is used to cleave an oligonucleotide linker designed to bind magnetic microparticles (MMPs) and polystyrene microparticles (PMPs). Due to creatinine's inhibition to hydroxyl radicals, the creatinine level is reflected by the increase of bound microparticles. Measured by the length of PMP accumulation after magnetic separation on the microfluidic device, we achieved a limit of detection (LOD) of 20.11 mg dL−1, with high tolerance to interfering factors and a wide pH range. Comparison with the standard method using 21 clinical urine samples yielded a concordance correlation of 0.92, indicating good accuracy and clinical compatibility. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2026.

AB - Urine creatinine plays a pivotal role both as an indicator for kidney impairment and as a normalizer for other urine markers to account for variations in urine volume. Here, we report a quantitative rapid test that converts the urinary creatinine level into a length of a visual bar on a microfluidic device. Hydroxyl radicals in Fenton's reaction is used to cleave an oligonucleotide linker designed to bind magnetic microparticles (MMPs) and polystyrene microparticles (PMPs). Due to creatinine's inhibition to hydroxyl radicals, the creatinine level is reflected by the increase of bound microparticles. Measured by the length of PMP accumulation after magnetic separation on the microfluidic device, we achieved a limit of detection (LOD) of 20.11 mg dL−1, with high tolerance to interfering factors and a wide pH range. Comparison with the standard method using 21 clinical urine samples yielded a concordance correlation of 0.92, indicating good accuracy and clinical compatibility. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2026.

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UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105040055830#tab=impact

U2 - 10.1039/d6lc00249h

DO - 10.1039/d6lc00249h

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

SN - 1473-0197

JO - Lab on a Chip

JF - Lab on a Chip

ER -

A quantitative rapid test for urine creatinine via Fenton's reaction and a self-driven microfluidic device

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GRF: Collective Cell Chirality: Investigating the Characteristics, the Structural and Molecular Mechanism, and Its Role in Guiding Wound Healing

HLCA: Glycohemoglobin Quantitative Rapid Test for Screening and Management of Diabetes

ASDC_Sub: Futian Research Project: Lab on a Patch: A Skin Patch for Rapid Screening of Malignant Melanoma Based on Microneedles and Structurally Programmed Microfluidic Particle Dam

Cite this

A quantitative rapid test for urine creatinine via Fenton's reaction and a self-driven microfluidic device

Abstract

Funding

RGC Funding Information

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Other Access Options

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Other Files and Links

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Projects

GRF: Collective Cell Chirality: Investigating the Characteristics, the Structural and Molecular Mechanism, and Its Role in Guiding Wound Healing

HLCA: Glycohemoglobin Quantitative Rapid Test for Screening and Management of Diabetes

ASDC_Sub: Futian Research Project: Lab on a Patch: A Skin Patch for Rapid Screening of Malignant Melanoma Based on Microneedles and Structurally Programmed Microfluidic Particle Dam

Cite this