Quick analysis of immune system possible with new chip

A team of scientists at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have developed a chip that can analyse a patient’s immune system in just minutes from a drop of blood. The device uses microfluidics and electrical sensors to detect differences in the electrical properties of white blood cells taken from healthy and diabetic patients. The scientists say the chip has the potential to become a portable device suitable for GP’s surgeries and polyclinics and could one day help doctors to identify the first signs of inflammation and infection that could signal the need for further tests.
Asst Prof Holden Li said: “Our chip was designed for easy scale-up by companies, with an integrated system built from electronic components available on the market. Moving forward, we are looking to commercialise the technology with an industry partner, as we see that there are market demands for a point-of-care device for doctors and as laboratory equipment for the study of neutrophils and drug screening.”
Asst Prof Hou said: “Our chips can isolate thousands of white blood cells from a single drop of blood and, within minutes, tell if these cells are electrically different from normal, which would be an indicator of whether there is a health issue to be further investigated. More importantly, our process also does not use any chemical biomarkers or antibodies, which makes the assay cheap, easy to use, and that we can do further analysis on the same white blood cells we have already run through the chip.”