3D-printed smartphone microscope offers cost-effective DNA testing
22 Jan 2017
A team of researchers has created a 3D-printed smartphone microscope that could offer cost-effective DNA sequencing and genetic mutation analysis for those in remote areas.
According to the researchers, the microscope could be mass-produced for roughly $500 (£406) each, which is considerably less than a typical device with multi imagining modes – costing around $10,000 (£8077).
“Whereas higher-end versions, such as the one we used to validate our mobile-phone microscope, would go for $50,000 or more,” added Aydogan Ozcan, UCLA’s chancellor’s professor of electrical engineering and bioengineering.
A full account of the research has been published in the journal Nature Communications.
The device is designed to image and analyse specific DNA sequences and genetic mutations in tumour cells and tissue samples without having to first extract DNA from them.
Mats Nilsson, a professor of biochemistry and biophysics at Stockholm and Uppsala Universities, said: “Oftentimes, advanced lab-based testing is performed at major hospitals, which is limiting, as not everyone has access to a hospital that can perform these tests.”
Therefore, Nilsson said it is important to have these molecular testing approaches at a doctor’s office or where care is being given.
The microscope has been designed for use with a standard smartphone camera. It can capture multi-colour fluorescence and bright-field images at the same quality of those created by a traditional light microscope, the researchers said.
“Ultra–low-cost DNA sequencing and tumour biopsy analysis, in which morphology and mutation analysis are combined, can substantially decrease diagnostic costs and make it more widely accessible,” explained the study’s first author Malte Kühnemund, a postdoc at SciLifeLab.
The researchers have also suggested the device could eventually be used to identify disease-causing bacteria and microorganisms, and to measure the genetic signatures of antibiotic resistance.
