The eProfiler device
The rapid and accurate detection of pathogens is crucial in various fields, including healthcare, food safety, environmental monitoring, and biosecurity. Pathogenic outbreaks, such as pandemics and foodborne diseases, can have severe impacts on public health and safety, making early identification essential for timely intervention and containment.
However, traditional pathogen detection methods are often limited by time-consuming processes, the need for specialiased equipment, and the requirement for skilled personnel. This limitation creates a gap in technology, particularly in situations where fast and portable detection is necessary. The eProfiler sensor aims to address these challenges by offering an innovative solution that not only provides rapid pathogen detection but also characterises the pathogens in detail, enhancing the precision and effectiveness of responses.
The eProfiler is a pioneering solid-state electronic sensor designed to characterise and identify biomolecules, cells, pathogens, and other microbes. It is one of the first technologies to bridge the gap between bioelectronics and biological material detection. Typically, we do not consider biological materials like DNA, RNA, or microbes to be conductors or semiconductors. Indeed, the current technology for testing pathogens is based on biochemical or electrochemical – but not bioelectronics. For instance, the current gold standard for the COVID-19 virus is reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), a technique based on biotechnology. While RT-PCR is accurate, it is also time-consuming, expensive, and requires highly trained personnel. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that speed is critical in handling infectious diseases, and the traditional methods often fall short of providing rapid results needed to initiate timely treatments.
Therefore, a new detection technology is needed. While the conventional pathogen-detecting methods have served mankind well over the past decades, it is time for a change. This is where the eProfiler comes in – a device to detect and characterise pathogens that is low cost, rapid, accurate, and simple enough to be handled without prior training. The eProfiler is able to achieve these feats because it relies on the electronic properties of the biomolecules themselves. Biological materials possess semiconducting properties, which can be exploited to fabricate sensors. Each biomaterial has unique electronic properties that can serve as a “fingerprint” for characterisation. These properties are termed electronic profiles. Hence, the name eProfiler is then collected in an electronic databank library. When biomolecules are tested using the eProfiler, their profile is compared and matched with eProfiles from the library, allowing the system to identify the sample.
Dr. Venga showcased his product at the International Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition (ITEX 2022).
The eProfiler is truly a next-generation platform technology for personalised medicine and is imagined to revolutionise the digital healthcare environment in the near future. Indeed, the eProfiler has recently been used for several exciting projects in the medical field. For instance, they have been used to test the viability of stem cells in cell therapy in collaboration with a university in the United Kingdom. The eProfiler is also used to tackle the issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which can be used to examine whether a virus or bacteria causes an infection, thus preventing the unnecessary prescription of antibiotics for a viral infection. On top of that, Dr. Venga and his team are also working on an ambitious project, building a comprehensive eProfiles library of every organism and biomolecule known to man in an all-electronic databank of organisms dubbed the eGenome Project.
In a nutshell, the eProfiler is a groundbreaking technology that is envisioned to transform the field of diagnostic testing by making it convenient, low-cost, fast, and accurate. What is more impressive is that the device technology and circuitry of the eProfiler is a truly “Made-in-Malaysia” technology, while the software development is an international effort comprising “bootstrapped” resources and staffs from around the globe, including Afghanistan, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. In his concluding remarks, Dr. Venga revealed that his dreams of contributing to the world, along with his research team, are the driving forces that push him to continue this innovative work.
Researchers featured:
Prof. Dr. Vengadesh Periasamy
Department of Physics
Faculty of Science, UM
For inquiries, please contact:
E: vengadeshpum.edu.my, T: +603-79674038
Author:
Farah Hannan Abd Nasir
A PhD student from the Physics Department who’s eager to blend science and storytelling - my goal is to make science relatable and exciting for everyone. When I’m not researching organic electronics, I enjoy playing the viola and painting with watercolours.
Copyedit:
Siti Farhana Bajunid Shakeeb Arsalaan Bajunid, Assistant Registrar, UM
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