A European project coordinated by CIC microGUNE Ikerlan and automated laboratory is developing a James Bond style called “Laboratory skin patches and smartcards based on foils and compatible with a smartphone” (Labonfoil). Thanks to the lab-on-a-chip technology and smart patches to detect a wide variety of substances and disease diagnosis, the project aims to create an inexpensive and portable laboratory that can interact with smart devices.
The product of 13 partners from 8 countries, Labonfoil is designed to be simple, sensitive, rapid, and “ultra-low cost.” It is a very flexible system based on smart cards and patches that are connected to a common portable reader, either directly or in a wireless network. Each card and the patch is a lab-on-a-chip, using blades instead of conventional wafers to keep costs down. According to developers, they can detect chemical and biochemical markers and the common reader can send data to a computer, tablet or smart phone, as well as making it immediately available to distant experts and other stakeholders.
The current version of Labonfoil uses three smart cards and a skin patch adapted to react to defined substances. The skin patch is capable of detecting molecules in human sweat cocaine in real time, while one of the cards can identify a specific protein in a few drops of blood as a cheap, non-invasive diagnosis of colon cancer . The second card is able to detect bacteria or viruses, such as campylobacter or salmonella on farms or in food processing plants. The third card can measure levels of phytoplankton in seawater as a means of monitoring pollution.
Developers say that extensive testing has shown the robustness and reliability. The POC Microsolutions Spanish company will market the device next year, and the Irish company Biosensia and DTU Nanotech in Denmark are working to further develop the technology and its applications….
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