Technology
The Discipher platform - instrument and microfluidics disc
LingVitae and Plarion have developed Discipher, introducing a low cost generic diagnostic test platform, based on the hardware of an optical disc drive with:
- Temperature control up to 80°C
- Centrifugal microfluidics
- Sensitivity to optical changes
- Multiplexed samples / tests
- Portability - plugs in to any computer
- Pre-deposited reagents
- Low volumes required
- Real time analysis
By basing a generic diagnostics instrument on an optical drive, we are building on 30+ years of development, resulting in a robust, highly engineered and cost efficient product.
The Discipher platform’s rotational microfluidics disc simplifies sample handling and offers automation of process steps. As the discs are manufactured by standard methods and materials used in the optical disc industry for decades, the platform truly provides a low cost solution for a diverse range of diagnostic applications.
Functionalities that the disc offers are e.g.:
- Simple injection of sample and additional solutions into disc
- Sealing of inlet and outlet holes
Read-out mechanisms
The Discipher platform works by detecting optical changes in a biological sample, brought about via rotational microfluidics in combination with a number of well established techniques in the field of biological assays, such as:
- Silver enhancement – can detect single enhancement processes – very sensitive
- Colourimetric detection to < 0.5% absolute
- Turbidity change
- Submicron resolution imaging
- Bead or cell imaging, counting
Biochemical assays
The types of assays that may be performed on this platform include:
- Nucleic acid based assays (RNA/DNA)
- Antibody assays
- Cell based assays
Application areas
Possible areas of application for this platform include, but not limited to:
- Diagnostics e.g. pathogen identification and host genotyping
- Veterinary medicine
- Wellness testing
- Food allergies
- Quality monitoring e.g. GMO detection, salmonella
LingVitae has IP rights to a patent portfolio covering optical disc based assays and biological testing. The work has been part-funded by the EU FP7 Digital Sequencing Programme, which uses a modified optical disc drive to perform DNA sequencing.