Mobile App-Based Quantitative Scanometric Analysis

The feasibility of using smartphones and other mobile devices as the detection platform for quantitative scanometric assays is demonstrated. The different scanning modes (color, grayscale, black/white) and grayscale converting protocols (average, weighted average/luminosity, and software specific) have been compared in determining the optical darkness ratio (ODR) values, a conventional quantitation measure for scanometric assays. A mobile app was developed to image and analyze scanometric assays, as demonstrated by paper-printed tests and a biotin-streptavidin assay on a plastic substrate. Primarily for ODR analysis, the app has been shown to perform as well as a traditional desktop scanner, augmenting that smartphones (and other mobile devices) promise to be a practical platform for accurate, quantitative chemical analysis and medical diagnostics.