Technology
ReFr-Plasma Chip
A significant challenge in human health is the slow and expensive production of immunodiagnostics and biosensing devices. Immobilising biomolecules on the sensing surface—a critical step—determines device performance, longevity, and cost. Currently, this sensitive process relies on complex steps, chemicals, specialised equipment and labour.
The conventional workflow includes:
- Procurement of expensive biological and chemical reagents and materials.
- Labour-intensive processes such as antibody immobilisation.
- Dependence on large-scale batch production, which lacks flexibility, leads to contamination and waste due to fluctuating demand.
- Long lead times for diagnostic development and customisation.
This approach is unsustainable, especially as demand for rapid, field-deployable diagnostics increases due to the rise of infectious and lifestyle diseases.
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In summary, the current system doesn't deliver fast, affordable, environmentally conscious diagnostics at the scale needed today. As a result, these diseases harm our lives and strain healthcare, the environment and the welfare systems.
ReFr-Plasma Chip aims to revolutionise this outdated workflow by introducing a sustainable manufacturing paradigm that is faster, efficient, more cost-effective, and environmentally responsible, ensuring diagnostics are accessible where and when they’re needed most. ReFr-Plasma Chip is a patented one-pot synthesis of a nanoengineered coating that simplifies the critical process into a single-step, continuous approach without any chemical reagents, thereby reducing hurdles in manufacturing, including production costs, scale-up, reproducibility, and offer pathways to minimise contamination of the sensing surface, while preserving sensor performance.
ReFr-Plasma Slide
Cell culture has become a vital part of studying disease pathology, drug development, tissue regeneration, and personalised medicine. Glass is widely used as a substrate for cell culture because of its high optical clarity. However, glass surfaces are not naturally biocompatible with biomolecules and cells, which can cause cell detachment during cultivation and hinder cell growth, significantly impacting the success of assays. Cell culture assays are often time-consuming and costly, requiring skilled personnel, specialised laboratory facilities, and expensive cell culture media. Improving the success rate could save time, cut costs, and help researchers and clinicians make timely decisions.
ReFr-Plasma Slide uses a patented nano-engineered surface coating technique to add a carbon-based active layer to the glass interface, allowing covalent attachment of biomolecules. This enables strong immobilisation of extracellular matrix proteins, growth factors, and other bio-instructive molecules on the glass surface, maintaining their functions during cell culture. ReFr-Plasma Slide not only supports cell attachment but also provides signals to drive growth and differentiation. Given the importance and high demand for effective cell culture platforms, our technology has the potential to revolutionise cell culture assays once commercialised.
Publications
1. Ashok D et al., Advanced Functional Materials (2024): https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202313664
2. Tran CTH et al., Small Science (2023): https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202300228
3. Gleize KCD et al., Langmuir (2022): https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c02573