H2020 FOODSELFI Project: Monitoring food safety using lateral flow electrochemical immunoassay
- Type Project
- Status Filled
- Execution 2017 -2018
- Assigned Budget 90.988,75 €
- Scope Europeo
- Main source of financing H2020
- Project website FOODSELFI
During FOODSELFI, the key specifications for the development of an electrochemical lateral flow immunoassay (ELFI) were defined. These include the materials, processes, and manufacturing conditions required to produce a functional ELFI prototype. In addition, the design of the larger-scale manufacturing process was defined, including electrode screen printing and antibody and reagent deposition.
The FOODSELFI prototype combined screen-printed electrodes and hydrophobic barriers on paper substrates to produce a platform capable of in situ immunological reactions and electrochemical detection. The prototype was developed using a typical antibody model (interleukin-6) and was capable of determining 0 to 20 µg mL-1 per antibody molecule (n = 3).
Food safety and quality are a global concern, one of the most regulated areas in the world, primarily in developed markets, and obviously affect all countries that import or export food. The international food safety community demands new technological advances for rapid, quantitative, and in-situ monitoring of the most relevant analytes (pathogens, allergens, etc.) established by international food safety standards. These advances should be developed at affordable costs for the food industry, with consequent health and economic benefits for society.
BIOLAN, a leading European SME in the biosensor sector for the food industry, aims to revolutionize the market with the commercialization of rapid, economical, disposable, and quantitative one-step immunobiosensors based on the analytical technology of electrochemical lateral flow immunoassay (ELFI).
In FOODSELFI, BIOLAN combined traditional qualitative lateral flow technology with quantitative electrochemical detection. This was achieved by developing the ELFI concept for mass production: screen-printed electrodes on the same paper substrate as the lateral flow immunoassay.
The international food safety community is demanding new technological advances in rapid and quantitative immunobiosensors. These devices will enable the implementation of in-situ monitoring processes for the most relevant analytes (pathogens, allergens, etc.) established by international food safety standards at lower and more affordable costs for the food industry, with additional health and economic benefits for society.
BIOLAN, a leading European SME in the field of biosensors for the food industry, aims to revolutionize the market in the coming years with the commercialization of rapid, low-cost, disposable, quantitative single-step immunobiosensors based on electrochemical lateral flow immunoassay (ELFI) analytical technology.
At FOODSELFI, BIOLAN aims to overcome the current limitations of LF technology for the development of rapid quantitative immunobiosensors (lack of quantitative and reproducible results to enable mass manufacturing), through a new formulation of the ELFI technology concept: screen-printed electrodes on the same paper material substrate as the Lateral Flow immunoassay. This simplified design could enable a mass manufacturing process of quantitative immunosensors with higher levels of sensitivity and reproducibility, by
To achieve this goal, BIOLAN aims to leverage its deep expertise in two technologies critical to the development of mass manufacturing processes for quantitative biosensors: electrochemical detection and electrode screen printing. However, BIOLAN lacks expertise in other critical capabilities, such as lateral flow immunoassays and paper-based microfluidics.
With the support of an SME Innovation Partner with expertise in the identified skills gaps, working closely with a multidisciplinary team of biologists, chemists, and electronic engineers, BIOLAN will test the viability of FOODSELFI's business idea and define an innovation program for its successful implementation.
STATE OF THE ART vs. FOODSELF Progress
- Plastic/semi-paper analytical platforms - Paper analytical platforms
- Qualitative or semi-quantitative paper-based lateral flow immunoassay - Fully paper-based quantitative immunoassays
- Caffeine quantification in beverages requires a significant amount of time (hours), expensive laboratory equipment, and qualified personnel. The official method is based on chromatographic methods with spectrophotometric detection—in situ detection, an intuitive solution.
- BIOLAN MICROBIOSENSORES SL (BIOLAN)
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