According to the World Health Organization, an ideal POC diagnostic must be Affordable, Sensitive, Specific, User-friendly, Rapid/Robust, Equipment-free and Deliverable (ASSURED). DNAiTECH is focused on delivering POC diagnostics fulfilling the ASSURED criteria. In 2023 we have developed PLACID (paper-based LAMP CRISPR integrated diagnostics). PLACID systems are low cost because they rely on paper-based microfluidics, they are robust because they use LAMP amplification of the target, and they are highly specific because coupling LAMP with CRISPR eliminates the sporadic issue of nonspecific amplification of LAMP-alone. With PLACID, the CRISPR fluorescence output is visually intense so that positive reactions are visible to the naked eye or detectable with a smartphone camera. Our PLACID cartridge and reader technology will be available from mid-2024 and will enable the simultaneous running of multiple diagnostic cards with multiple target sequences in a small portable, battery powered device.
Combined with PLACID, DNAiTECH has also developed S-TECH, an innovative approach for purification of nucleic acids. S-TECH is designed for isolation of highly pure nucleic acid samples beyond the laboratory, with POC diagnostics in mind. To-date, S-TECH has been used for DNA isolation from tissue biopsies, nasal and throat swabs, blood, fecal and urine samples as well as plant tissue, soil, and beehive samples. In all these instances, S-TECH has produced highly purified amplifiable DNA, without requiring laboratory equipment such as spin columns, centrifuges, vortex mixers etc.
PLACID is a disruptive approach to POC diagnostics, our goal is the delivery of ASSURED diagnostic systems, to contribute to the collective effort to drive towards a world where access to disease detection and treatment is understood to be a fundamental human right.
