Morning Coffee, Pastries and Networking

Self-Powered Microfluidic Electrical Sensor Array to Rapidly Detect Viral Contaminations in Liquid Solutions
Peter Ertl, Professor of Lab-on-a-Chip Systems, Vienna University of Technology, Austria

The incidence of viral distribution and infection has soared over the past decades due to population growth, deforestation and increased travel, resulting in a global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 viral outbreak. As a consequence, rapid detection and identification of viral infections is a pressing human health issue. Faster, more accurate diagnosis will benefit health care systems in particular, by significantly reducing time-to-result and providing better more reliable epidemiological data that can be used for infectious disease control. In course of the presentation current Covid-19 test kits are reviewed and evaluated for point-of-care and on-site applications. Additionally, our efforts to develop a self-powered sensing solution combining liquid handling unit, microbatteries, optical read out and microsensor arrays within a stand-alone lab-on-a-chip system will be presented.

Towards Large Scale Integrated, Multivariate “Lab-on-a-Disc” Sensors by a Virtual “Digital Twin” Approach
Jens Ducree, Principal Investigator, Dublin City University, Ireland

Future decentralized bioanalytical testing, e.g., for applications in point-of-care and global diagnostics as well as ubiquitous monitoring of industries, infrastructures and the environment, will require full sample-to-answer automation and parallelization of bioassays on widely autonomous or user-friendly, robust and cost-efficient systems. Centrifugal microfluidic technologies have already demonstrated comprehensive, high-performance process integration of bioassay protocols for a wide range of scientific endeavours and commercial applications. Based on a digital twin approach, this presentation outlines a virtual “in silico” approach to optimize performance, integration density, reliability, configurability and manufacturability of these “Lab-on-a-Disc” (LoaD) devices, thus decisively minimizing cost, risk and time-to-market. These advancements provide an entry gate for developing mature commercial supply chains, foundry services, standardization, validation, and even enable rapidly emerging, participatory research models based on disruptive 21st technologies at the crossroads of Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the distributed ledger technology Blockchain.

Morning Coffee Break and Networking

Actin Filament Multiplication, Path Control and Longevity of Actin-Myosin based Nanodevices for Biosensing and Biocomputation
Alf Månsson, Professor, Linnaeus University and Lund University Sweden, Sweden

Biomolecular myosin motors interact with actin filaments in utilizing the cellular fuel ATP to produce motion and forces, e.g. in muscle contraction and cytoplasmic streaming in plant cells. Both isolated motors and actin filaments have been chemically and genetically engineered for use in nanotechnological applications. In the devices, myosin motor fragments are immobilized on suitably derivatized nanoscale tracks for directed movement of actin filaments in network based biological computation or to separate analyte molecules and accumulate them on a detector area. For greater versatility of such nanodevices it is important to extend the shelf-life during storage as well as the longevity during device operation. For several applications it is also desirable to exponentially increase the number of filaments during operation, e.g. by repeated cycles of actin severing using gelsolin followed by elongation, and to precisely and remotely control the exact filament path through the network. Improved longevity requires rationally determined adjustments of the fluid environment and device fabrication. Here, I describe recent progress in these regards and their importance for improved molecular motors based nanodevices.

Combined Calorimetric Gas- and Spore-based Biosensor for Aseptic Food Processing
Michael Schöning, Professor and Director, Institute of Nano- and Biotechnologies, Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Gaseous H₂O₂ represents one of the most used sterilization agents in aseptic food processing. To validate this sterilization method under investigation, robust spores that are resistant against this sterilant are first exposed. Afterwards, the logarithmic kill rate (i.e., how many survived from them) is determined by time-consuming (48-72 h) and tedious microbiological count-plating methods (e.g., count reduction test, end point test). A novel sensing method is introduced, consisting of a spore-based biosensor, which is combined with a calorimetric H₂O₂ sensor onto a single chip to evaluate both the viability of the spores and to determine the gaseous H₂O₂ concentration. The calorimetric gas sensor responds to different concentrations of gaseous H₂O₂ via change of its initial resistance, whereas the spore-based biosensor monitors the spore degradation, depending on the H₂O₂ concentration detecting the impedance variation. Three different strains of spores were investigated with regard to the H₂O₂ durability, namely B. atrophaeus DSM 675, B. subtilis DSM 402 and G. stearothermophilus DSM 5934. The two sensor types were combined as sensor array enabling a considerably more specific multi-parameter experience in aseptic filling machines in comparison to isolated microbiological state-of-the-art- or hydrogen peroxide methods.

Networking Lunch, Meet Exhibitors and View Posters

Poster Oral Presentation by Alice Iles, University of Southampton UK. Poster Title: Semi-quantitative, paper-based detection of the inflammatory biomarkers, C-reactive protein and procalcitonin using laser-patterned multiplex technology

Poster Oral Presentation by Eva Melnik, Austrian Institute of Technology. Poster Title: Novel surface modification of platinum microneedle sensors for interference-less detection of glucose and lactate

Quantitative, Sensitive and Multiplexed Detection of Staphylococcal Enterotoxins: The Lanthanide-based Luminescent Nanoparticle Contribution to Lateral Flow Assays
Fanny Mousseau, Post doctorate fellow, Laboratoire d'Optiques et Biosciences (LOB), INSERM U1182, CNRS UMR 7645, Ecole Polytechnique, France

The simple, rapid, portable, and specific detection of biomolecules and pathogens in complex media is of growing interest in many fields such as “point-of-care” medical diagnostics, food industry, environmental monitoring, etc. Lateral Flow Assays (LFAs) are a central tool in this context since they meet most of the criteria recommended by the World Health Organization for such analyses . Examples of consumer use are pregnancy tests sold in pharmacies and, more recently, antigen tests for the detection of COVID-19. However, the standard gold nanoparticle-based LFAs lack sensitivity and generally do not provide quantitative measurements or simultaneous detection of several targets. In order to overcome these limitations, we combined a simple homemade reader coupled to a smartphone with the remarkable optical properties of lanthanide ions using luminescent YVO4:Eu nanoparticles as probes. First, quantitative analysis of the luminescent strips were carried out to detect four staphylococcal enterotoxins responsible for food poisoning. We demonstrated a gain in sensitivity of more than one order of magnitude compared to the reference LFA, approaching or surpassing the ELISA sensitivity. Second, by spatial multiplexing, three toxins were simultaneously detected without any loss of sensitivity. Our method thus constitutes a powerful and versatile approach to detect multiple proteins and could be the basis for future sensitive and portable bioassays or diagnostic tests.

Small-Molecule Quantification for Point-of-Care Testing Using Paper-based Analytical Devices
Jean-Manuel Segura, Professor, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland Valais, Switzerland

Paper offers many advantages as a material to produce point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tests: Paper-based analytical devices (PAD) are cheap, amenable for mass manufacturing, easy to dispose after use and do not require external actuation. Many important biomarkers tested using PADs are small molecules. While some analytes such as glucose can be analyzed using enzymatic assays, most are quantified using competitive immunoassays, which require well-defined concentrations of the reagents (antibodies and tracers). This is not easy to achieve in a POC format, might result in assay variability and renders assay design more complex.  During this talk, I will present two examples how competitive immunoassays can be implemented in paper-based analytical devices for POC applications. In a first example, I will describe the development of a lateral flow assay for salivary cortisol, a biomarker of chronic stress. The low concentration and the stringent requirements on assay precision make the development of such a test challenging. A detailed understanding of the underlying immunoassay mechanism enabled a considerable improvement of the performance. In a second example, I will discuss the development of a vertical flow assay for the antibiotics tobramycin, which requires therapeutic drug monitoring to ensure efficacy while avoiding oto- and nephrotoxicity. A homogeneous competitive immunoassay based on fluorescence polarization was implemented inside paper microzones that enabled both plasma extraction and detection.

Afternoon Coffee Break and Networking

An Advanced Statistical Description of Digital Quantification Methods and its Implications for the Design of Point-of-Care Devices
Manuel Loskyll, Researcher, Robert Bosch GmbH, Germany

In partition-based digital quantification, statistical processes like partitioning and sub-sampling influence the uncertainty of the experiment’s result. The presented analysis of these processes helps to design point-of-care devices providing an optimized quantification accuracy, while using a limited area for evaluation.

Accelerating CAR T-cell Immunotherapy Research with Assistance of Nano-biosensors
Trang Anh Nguyen Le, Researcher, Helmholzt Center Dresden Rossendorf, Germany

Silicon nanowire field-effect transistors with outstanding sensitivity enable screening for best molecule during construction of UniCAR T cell therapy.

Interdigitated Gold Nanowires for Impedimetric Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies
Diana Isabel Sandoval Bojorquez, Researcher, Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf, Germany

We developed a biosensor for the detection of antibodies that are present during and after infection with SARS-CoV-2. Detection was performed by monitoring the changes in the surface of interdigitated gold nanowires with the electrical impedance spectroscopy technique.

Poster Oral Presentation by Feixiong Chen, University College Dublin. Poster Title: Multi-functionalized magnetic nanoparticle for Point of Care diagnosis of Breast Cancer biomarker

Poster Oral Presentation by Wioleta Bialobrzeska, The Institute of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine (IBMM) Poland. Poster Title: Electrochemical biosensor for Equine Viral Arteritis protein detection using antibody modified gold electrodes

Close of Conference