Scientists from Texas University and Aivsk University have announced the development of a new chip sensor that may revolutionize the field of diagnostics. The chip has the ability to accurately and rapidly detect various pathogens that cause diseases without the use of expensive and complicated chemical dyes that are typically used in diagnosis.
This new chip is expected to be a breakthrough in diagnostic applications for plants, food, animals, and people to identify maladies including food infections, bird flu, and COVID-19. The chip is built on a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technique that amplifies DNA of pathogens. Unlike conventional methods, the chip does not require a visualization procedure that uses specific fluorescent dyes. Instead, it includes a nanoporous thin-tower sensor in its reaction chamber. Specific LAMP primers are mounted on the surface of the sensor, resulting in electrical signals that can be easily read in as little as 30 minutes using a portable spectrometer.
The researchers were able to demonstrate the effectiveness of the chip using Phytophthora Infestans as an example, a pathogen responsible for causing late blight disease in potatoes and tomatoes. The results of their study have been published in the ACS Sensors journal.
This breakthrough innovation in diagnostics is expected to be a powerful monitoring and controlling tool for diseases. The scientists also plan to enhance the chip’s sensitivity and its ability to differentiate between categories and strains of pathogens for future use. The development of the chip is expected to reduce the cost of diagnosis while offering more efficient and highly-accurate results.