Tag Archive for: biosensor

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BioprintedQCM, proyecto de Consolidación de la Cadena de Valor Empresarial

Advanced Wave Sensors S.L. (AWSensors), en el marco del programa “Proyectos de Consolidación de la Cadena de Valor Empresarial” (Convocatoria 2023), ha contado con el apoyo de la Agència Valenciana de la Innovació y con la cofinanciación del fondo europeo FEDER para el desarrollo de un proyecto de investigación industrial en el campo de los biosensores. El proyecto dió comienzo en octubre de 2023 y tiene prevista una duración de 27 meses, hasta su finalización en diciembre de 2025. El proyecto cuenta con una subvención de 178.219,62 €.

El objetivo principal de este proyecto es la investigación de procesos industriales necesarios para el desarrollo de nuevas técnicas de bio-funcionalización superficial que permita la inmovilización de sondas de biorreconocimiento, tales como aptámeros, anticuerpos o secuencias de ADN, en la superficie de microrresonadores acústicos de una manera precisa, controlada, rápida, repetitiva, y a un coste reducido.

La técnica BioprintedQCM se aplicará en el desarrollo de nuevos biosensores basados en dispositivos HFF-QCM ARRAY, propiedad de AWSensors.

«Actuación susceptible de ser cofinanciada por la Unión Europea»

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Sensobac, biosensores para detección de bacterias viables en agua potable

Advanced Wave Sensors S.L. (AWSensors), en el marco del programa “Proyectos Estratégicos en Cooperación“, ha contado con el apoyo de la Agència Valenciana de la Innovació y con la cofinanciación del fondo europeo FEDER para el desarrollo de un proyecto de investigación industrial en el campo de los biosensores. El proyecto lo lidera AWSensors, junto con la Universitat de Politècnica de València y la Empresa Mixta Valenciana de Aguas, S.A., comenzando en mayo de 2022 y finalizando en septiembre de 2024. El proyecto cuenta con un presupuesto total de 297.531,75 € con una subvención de 178.519,05 €.

El objetivo principal de este proyecto es desarrollar una nueva técnica analítica de biosensores para la detección temprana de biomarcadores ligados a presencia de bacterias en la red de distribución de agua potable que funcione como un sistema de alerta y vigilancia constante. La tecnología propuesta, basada en la tecnología sensora QCMD de AWSensors, supone una ventaja respecto a las tecnologías disponibles por su robustez, sensibilidad, detección directa en tiempo real, capacidad de análisis multianualito, bajo coste por ensayo, bajo coste por sensor, modularidad y su facilidad de uso.

Durante el transcurso del proyecto, se trabajará en la selección de un conjunto de biomarcadores que permitan su cuantificación y relación con la presencia y viabilidad de bacterias en aguas, se desarrollaron protocolos analíticos de validación primero a nivel de laboratorio y, posteriormente, sobre la plataforma biosensora desarrollada a tal efecto.

«Actuación susceptible de ser cofinanciada por la Unión Europea»

honey

AWSensors technology to develop a DNA biosensor for detection of honey adulteration

May 15th 2017

AWSensors technology will be used in a new research project funded by Spanish Government (Retos Investigación 2017-2019) to develop a DNA biosensor for detection of honey adulteration. Honey companies are interested in this biosensor because new and cheaper analytical methods are required to meet the quality controls set by European Comission.

One of the priority challenges of the European Union (EU) is “Quality and Security in Food”. Food adulteration is a topic of interest in several fields: health care, legal (since it is a fraud) and economic (since it generates unfair competition). In this context, honey is one of the most commonly adulterated food, which generates a great deal of economical problems in apiarian production and comercialization sector. This situation affects directly to Spain, since is the most important EU country in honey production and comercialization. Nowadays, honey adulteration is made, mainly, by using vegetal siropes, resulting in an adulterated product similar in taste to natural honey, but fraudulent, and including substances that consumer unknowingly ingests. Therefore, the European Comission is promoting the development of new analytical methods which complement or replace the already existing ones.

 

The main drawbacks of the already existing techniques are:

  1. There is no a unique technique which allows to identify, in a reliable way, an adulteration; therefore, in order to be conclusive, several analytical determinations are needed;
  2. They are only available in central laboratories, which directly affects to the companies quality control process, slowing it down and rising its costs;
  3. They requiere high qualified staff;
  4. They requiere long time analysis periods (hours)
  5. They have not enough resolution to detect the target substances sometimes.

 

 

DNA biosensors are becoming very promising in the field of security and quality food control, since they are easy handling, reliable, fast and low cost. The proposed technology is based on the use of acoustic sensors coated with functionalized nanostructures which allow to greatly increase the Limit of Detection (LOD) of the DNA of the substances used in honey adulteration.

 

In this scenario, techniques based on DNA biosensors are becoming very promising in the field of security and quality food control, since they are easy handling, reliable, fast (analysis periods: minutes) and low cost. In this research project, the use of a novel technology in the field of food control adulteration is proposed. This technology is based on the use of acoustic sensors coated with functionalized nanostructures which allow to greatly increase the Limit of Detection (LOD) of the DNA of the plant substances used in honey adulteration. The use of those mentioned nanostructures generates a mechanic-acoustic amplification effect and, moreover, allow to separate the sensor transduction mechanism from the biochemical recognition process (DNA hybridization). The expected result is an increase of more than one order of magnitude in the sensor response when comparing it with the response of a sensor without the nanostructure coating.

The research proposed in this project deals with new challenges:

  1. The use of a new recognition method based on DNA detection;
  2. The use of nanostructures which provide a mechanic-acoustic amplification and a separation of the transduction mechanism from the biochemical recognition process;
  3. The use of a new technique for sample dispensing based on an in-batch method.

 

To deal with these challenges, a multidisciplinary research team of experts in micro and nano electronics, advanced materials and biotechonology is required to guarantee the succes of the project. AWSensors will collaborate with this team of scientists from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, in Spain, (Bioengineering Research and Innovation Center and University Institute of Food Engineering for Development) and University Pierre et Marie Curie, in France (Laboratoire interfaces et systémes electroquimiques). Other honey companies such as Apisol, Honeygreen, Cooperativa Apícola de España, Granalbe and Primo Mendoza are interested in the results of the project.

AWS probe module for immersion

A new sensor module for immersion

Northwestern University, typically ranked among the top 15 of all U.S. universities in US, has become our customer. We are delighted to begin our expansion into the U.S. market with our relationship with Northwestern.

Our specific collaboration is with Prof. Kenneth Shull, from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He is one of the most prestigious researchers on the properties of polymer surfaces and interfaces, with a research emphasis on the adhesion of “soft materials”, including traditional pressure-sensitive adhesives and highly specialized polymeric gels commonly used in biomedical applications.

 Because of this collaboration, we have just launched a new sensor module specially designed for immersion.

AWS sensor module for immersion

Currently, researchers are using hand-made devices but they usually cause several inconvenients:

 

  • Lack of chemical resistance.
  • Weakness.
  • High volume of sample is wasted
  • Sealing is not hermetical.

The new AWS EQCM probe module solves all these issues and offers other advantages

Cover of AWS probe sensor module

  • You can immerse the sensor module even in very strong or hot solutions (up to 150 degrees) because the parts in contact with the liquid are made of PEEK and PTFE.
  • You can visualize the sensor during the experiment because the chamber is made of see-through material.
  • You do not have to worry about sealing. A PTFE cover seals the glass vial and includes holes for the reference and counter electrodes and holes for PTFE tubbing for controlling atmosphere or bubling inside the chamber.
  • You can easily replace and clean all the parts of the probe module.

 

The AWS EQCM Probe module is designed to operate with standard wrapped QCM sensors of 14 mm or 1” diameter with contacts, as well as AWS-HFF sensors.

 

Do you feel this new sensor module could be useful for your research?

 

Visit our Custom Solutions and tell us your needs

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