Life-Saving Test for Sepsis Developed in Germany

A diagnostic platform being developed in Germany will analyze blood for sepsis within an hour. The system is based on nanoparticles that are automatically guided by magnetic forces.

The mobile diagnostics platform guarantees fast and low-cost infection diagnostics while the patient is being transported to hospital. Called MinoLab, it consists of a plastic card the size of a credit card, which is inserted in an analysis unit smaller than a notebook.

MinoLab is being developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI; Leipzig, Germany), in collaboration with Magna Diagnostic in a German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF; Berlin, Germany) project.

Dr. Dirk Kuhlmeier, a scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, explained how the new platform works: "After taking a sample of blood, magnetic nanoparticles bind themselves to the target cells in the blood sample through specific catcher molecules. We then use a simple magnet to transfer the particles onto the plastic card along with the pathogens and move them through various miniaturized reaction chambers, which is where the polymerase chain reaction takes place. This is a method for copying even the smallest DNA sequences of pathogens millions of times. After it is copied, the nanoparticles transport the pathogen DNA into the detection chamber where a new type of magneto resistive biochip can identify pathogens and antibiotics resistances." He added: "All reactions starting from sample preparation through isolating the target molecules right down to documentation are carried out without any contact and fully automatically."

This means that the MinoLab makes the routine operation much simpler for the laboratory technician and reduces the risk of contamination from bacteria introduced from the environment.

Blood poisoning is frequently underestimated. In Germany, 60,000 persons die every year from some form of sepsis, almost as many as from heart attacks. The Sepsis Nexus of Expertise states that patients arriving at the intensive care ward with blood poisoning only have a 50% chance of surviving. One of the reasons for the high mortality rate is the fact that patients are not correctly treated due to late diagnosis.

Related Links:
German Federal Ministry of Education and Research
Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology
Magna Diagnostic
Sepsis Nexus of Expertise