A team of researchers has developed a paper-based network topology that can program automated multi-step fluidic protocols for lateral flow tests. This new method utilizes dissolvable sugar applied to paper to create programmable flow delays, allowing for multi-step assays that were previously not possible without added user steps. The team added sucrose solutions at varying concentrations to paper strips and dried them to create fluidic time delays ranging from minutes to nearly an hour. They demonstrated that a simple folding card format employing sugar delays could automate a four-step fluidic process initiated by a single user activation step. The device was used to perform a signal-amplified sandwich immunoassay for a diagnostic biomarker for malaria. The cards are capable of automating multi-step assay protocols that are typically used in laboratories, but in a rapid, low-cost, and easy-to-use format. Two basic functions, volume-limited fluid sources and time delays, allow programming of timed fluidic sequences in paper networks. The experiments required loading four pads with separate liquid reagents, but the team is developing methods to automate the pad loading step to simplify the device operation. This paper-based network topology concept can be applied to other detection chemistries, such as ELISA, and similar principles can be applied to translate multi-step laboratory protocols, such as nucleic acid tests, to a point-of-care format.