Portable laboratories the size of your palm, capable of analyzing food for diseases such as salmonella, no longer belong in the realms of science fiction. OptoLabCard, a project funded by the EU to the tune of over ?3 million, has created one of only two prototype systems in the world that prepares samples and performs DNA tests on bacteria in a portable, easy-to-use and cost-effective chip. This innovative prototype promises to carry out tests in as little as half an hour.
Essentially the prototype device consists of a handheld base unit and a cartridge or ‘labcard’ that will carry out a real time polymerase chain reaction automatically, from sample preparation to an optical detection. The labcard is made from a light sensitive material called SU-8, and contains all the disposable components, whereas the base unit includes all the standard electronics and optics.
What sets the OptoLabCard prototype apart from other devices is its cost-effectiveness. The use of a single material, SU-8, in the manufacture of most of its components makes the chips simpler and cheaper to produce.
Source:
CORDIS News [EU]
July 30, 2008