Cambridge Consultants has developed a platform that enables a range of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) to be performed in a near-patient setting.
The immunoassay platform is based on a novel time-resolved florescence (TRF) label and low-cost portable detection technology.
It is said to provide the precision, accuracy and sub-pM sensitivity expected of a clinical laboratory in a cost-effective near-patient setting, better enabling earlier diagnosis and the detection of a wider range of biomarkers.
Cambridge Consultants' platform is based on the combination of a TRF reader and label that achieve high sensitivity by using a temporal, rather than spectral, separation of excitation and detection light.
At the core of the platform is a TRF label that is said to offer far greater levels of sensitivity than existing gold labels.
The label, when integrated with Cambridge Consultants' detection unit, can deliver over four orders of magnitude improved sensitivity compared to gold labels, it claims.
Using an NT-proBNP assay, the company has demonstrated that the platform is capable of detecting the biomarker in concentrations of less than 1pM and, under certain conditions, as low as 0.01pM.
The platform can be applied to a number of substrates, arrays and planar surfaces, and is capable of being retrofitted to a range of existing lateral-flow assays.
