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PI: Bhaskaran, Harish

Department: Materials

The aim of the project is to create cost-effective, portable and point-of-care biosensors with sensitivity of 10 pg/mL to quickly detect cardiac Troponin I protein in 10 min. Cardiac Troponin I protein is a marker for myocardial damage with a high mortality rate is 34-42%. The normal concentration  of Troponin I protein in the serum of human body should be within 0.04 ng/mL. Thus it is significant to monitor this protein to achieve the early diagnosis of myocardial damage so that proper care and treatment can be given to the patients promptly. The project of building the cardiac Troponin I protein biosensor will deliver impact in the healthcare field by simplifying the conventional troponin test so that heart damage can be earlier diagnosed and prevented. 

In this project, we will integrate the semiconductor microchip with microfluidics to build compact lab-on-chip biosensors of Troponin I protein. The integration with microfluidics also deliver impact of sustainability by enabling the use of low-volume analyte, materials/energy saving as well as less cost/waste of chemical and biological process.  The project is collaborated with PragmatIC Semiconductor Ltd who has leading experience in semiconductor manufacturing. By using the high-performance thin film transistors (TFTs) offered by PragmatIC. we have demonstrated localised functionalisation of TFTs by electrohydrodynamic printing of Troponin I protein antibody. The functionalised TFTs show changes in electrical properties after treating with Troponin I protein. Therefore, it is promising to convert our current achievements into label-free biosensors with fast response and high sensitivity.

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