The capacity to monitor, prevent and contain the spread of infectious diseases is of critical importance for effective management of global health. The threat posed by infectious diseases has increased considerably in the past half-century due to the challenges associated with sustained population growth, overcrowding, and the speed and ease of international travel. The widespread havoc caused by the SARS virus in 2003 and a new strain of the influenza A H1N1 virus in 2009 have highlighted the need for early and effective containment of disease outbreaks.
One of the outstanding breakthrough technologies to have emerged from the A*STAR Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) in response to these concerns is the MicroKit — a miniaturized diagnostic kit that offers a rapid, low-cost and reliable method for the early detection of diseases, which may provide an important line of defense against pandemics.
The MicroKit has now received the Silver Award at The Wall Street Journal’s Asian Innovation Awards 2011, garnering acclaim for its unique and innovative design. The Asian Innovation Awards are renowned for celebrating technological innovations that break with conventional processes in creative ways, and received more than 250 entries this year from 18 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region. The awards were based on three basic factors: the level of creativity or degree of innovation, quality of execution, and potential impact on quality of life or productivity.
Triumph of collaborative research
“We are delighted to receive the Silver Award for the MicroKit,” says Jackie Y. Ying, IBN’s executive director. “Our device aims to diagnose infectious diseases safely and quickly. Such diagnostic kits really help towards curbing the spread of diseases such as H1N1. This invention is the result of multidisciplinary research and reflects IBN’s mission to develop innovative biomedical devices that will improve healthcare and benefit society.”
The team that developed the MicroKit technology comprises IBN specialists in the fields of biomedical, electrical and chemical engineering, as well as collaborators at the National University of Singapore and the National University Hospital, Singapore.
Since its establishment in 2003, IBN’s focus on innovation has led to the creation of novel designs for micro- and nanotechnology devices, biomaterials and engineering solutions geared towards improving human health and quality of life. “The MicroKit project is an example of IBN’s strategic approach towards tackling biomedical challenges through interdisciplinary research and collaboration,” says Ying.
All-in-one technology
The portable MicroKit enables disease detection and diagnosis outside the laboratory
© 2011 IBN
The MicroKit is a self-contained diagnostic system that simplifies the process of disease diagnosis by integrating the usual steps required for sample preparation, amplification and disease detection in a disposable polymer cartridge. The novel cartridge design makes use of the latest advances in microfluidics, consisting of a silica membrane, pneumatic and fluidic networks, fluidic meters and surface tension valves. The polymer cartridges can be easily fabricated by injection molding, and can therefore be produced at low cost and in large quantities.
The advantages of the portable, all-in-one device are manifold — the MicroKit can be used outside the laboratory and can quickly identify infected patients at any strategic location where human traffic is concentrated to help contain the spread of infectious diseases. The importance of monitoring disease at international airports is particularly pertinent in light of the SARS and H1N1 outbreaks in recent years. The MicroKit is well suited for enabling health screenings at airports, train stations and other border checkpoints.
As the MicroKit is preloaded with reagents and fully automated, it minimizes the risk of cross-contamination and human error. The user-friendly design of the MicroKit enables non-clinical personnel to use the device securely, thereby saving the costs usually associated with conventional laboratory testing procedures. Operating the MicroKit simply involves pipetting a patient’s sample into the cartridge, and the system can automatically perform the entire sample preparation and diagnostic analyses.
The MicroKit integrates sample preparation, amplification and disease detection in a disposable polymer cartridge
© 2011 IBN
The MicroKit is capable of performing DNA/RNA sample preparation, reagent metering and aliquot dispensing, and is designed to conduct molecular diagnosis using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) detection. The reactions all take place within the sealed cartridge, eliminating the risk of accidental virus exposure and hardware contamination.
Disease detection using the MicroKit takes less than a couple of hours, whereas conventional laboratory tests can take up to 24 hours to complete and require labor-intensive manual processes. The portability of the MicroKit also lends itself for use in outpatient clinics and other decentralized locations, and reduces the burden on medical professionals in cases where rapid diagnostic tests may be required for large sampling groups.
Future directions
Since its inception in 2007, the MicroKit has undergone several phases of evolution, and is currently being developed to detect a host of other infections and diseases including HIV, dengue fever, respiratory virus infections, and hand, foot and mouth disease.
The MicroKit has already been successfully employed for seasonal influenza A H1N1 typing and sub-typing of clinical samples, achieving comparable results to those obtained using conventional laboratory methods. The IBN research team envisions that the device could one day be modified to examine complex diseases such as cancer.
The device may also be adapted for use in safety inspections, for example in the food industry. Clinical trials are now underway to test the efficacy of the MicroKit technology for bacteria detection, in collaboration with the Singapore General Hospital and the National University Hospital, Singapore.
The MicroKit technology has been licensed to SG Molecular Diagnostics, a spinoff of Singapore-based Dynamed Biotech Pte Ltd, with the goal of developing a range of diagnostic devices for commercial development. “We are currently working on the next phase of development for the MicroKit to facilitate the detection of up to 25 diseases at the same time,” says Ying.
