Science! New technology uses smartphones for DNA testing

May 12, 2020 /
Biovalley BIOON / -- Several Chinese and U.S research teams have developed pocket DNA testing kits, a small, inexpensive system that uses 3D printing integrated chips and smartphones to test small samples of materials In their paper, published in the journal Science Advance, the team described the system and its possible uses this new system, known to the team as POCKET , is designed to provide small-scale DNA testing in non-laboratory environments The system consists of a 3D printing integrated chip (i-chip) device and a smartphone It weighs less than 90 grams, and researchers say it costs less than $10 to make They believe this may be useful in a wide range of applications image source: Science Advance (2020) the system works by recording changes in DNA that can signal disease in substances such as urine, saliva or blood Smartphones are used to heat samples -- an app that takes the processor to the desired level Reagents are then used to trigger a reaction in the sample material, and i-chip produces a visual signal -- and then discovers mutations using a smartphone's camera and a cloud-based database application -- and the results can be displayed on the screen Tests on the device have shown that it can detect alpha and beta thalast anemia in blood samples It also identifies people with a gene that makes them more prone to alcoholism It also found E coli in milk, river water and urine, as well as a bacteria found in crushed plant leaves that attack kiwi
Overall, it has a 97 per cent accuracy rate researchers say their POCKET DNA testing kits could be modified to detect nucleic acids such as RNA to detect whether people are infected with the virus, which could be used to help track epidemics They also claim that the technology can also be used in other areas, such as environmental protection, clinical care, food safety and agriculture They point out that its portability and small size (i-chip devices are only 10 inches long) make it easy for users to take it wherever they need to go (biovalleybioon.com) Reference: Huan Xu et al.
An ultraportable and veratile point-of-care DNA teting platform, Science Advance (2020) DOI: 10.1126/ciadv.aaz7445
POCKET DNA-teting kit ue martphone to detect mutation