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Singapore, U.S. scientists develop rapid test for liver toxicity

Xinhua, September 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Scientists from Singapore and the United States have invented a kit to test liver toxicity that can provide results in 30 minutes, and are working on a prototype that miniaturizes a test lab into the size of a needle, the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) said on Wednesday.

The "lab-in-a-needle" device, which is co-invented by researchers from NTU, A*STAR Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) and the Houston Methodist Hospital Research Institute, can provide instant results on the health of a liver.

"This new medical device will be effective, for example, in quickly detecting liver toxicity, a common side effect of chemotherapy," it said.

Current tests entail multiple steps and results could take several days, and through this new kit, which can take patient samples, prepare them for testing, evaluate toxicity and display the results in one simple process, results for toxicity can be obtained in 30 minutes, allowing doctors to immediately discuss treatment options with patients.

The new device also offers the convenience of diagnostic testing outside of a clinical setting, such as at home or in the field.

"Our new method significantly reduces time, manpower and costs and yet has the same accurate results as the gold standards of current liver toxicity tests," said NTU Professor Joseph Chang, who is involved in the design and construction of the prototype.

The "lab-in-a-needle" test kit has two key components: a microfluidic chip that extracts and cleans the required test sample from the blood, while the second chip runs the various tests on the purified blood sample.

"Our next steps are to integrate the sample preparation and analysis chips into a miniaturized device to create the first full prototype of the lab-in-a-needle," said Wang Zhiping, director of Research Programs at A*STAR SIMTech.

"A*STAR SIMTech will tap on its manufacturing process capabilities to develop the lab-in-a-needle device cost effectively and can be scaled up for mass production. This will enable the mobile technology to be expanded to test for a number of health conditions in outpatient settings or outside hospitals," Wang added. Endi