Inkjet Printer May Produce Simple Tool to Detect Diseases and Contaminants

Researchers have developed new technology for printing paper biosensors that could rapidly detect molecules for many applications, including point-of-care diagnosis of bacterial and viral infections and detection of food and environmental contaminants.

Researchers at McMaster University (Hamilton, ON, Canada) developed the new platform, the latest in a progression of paper-based screening technologies to enable clear results in the form of letters and symbols that appear on the test paper to indicate presence of infection or contamination in people, food, or environment. Patients could receive diagnoses of infections in their doctors’ offices, saving trips to the lab and critical time. Consumers may benefit from packaging that could give simple text warnings if food is contaminated with pathogenic E. coli or Salmonella.


“The simplicity of use makes the system easy and cheap to implement in the field or doctor’s office,” said Prof. John Brennan, director of McMaster’s Biointerfaces Institute, “Imagine being able to clearly identify contaminated meat, vegetables, or fruit. For patients suspected of having infectious diseases like C. difficile, this technology allows doctors to quickly and simply diagnose their illnesses, saving time and expediting what could be life-saving treatments. This method can be extended to virtually any compound, be it a small molecule, bacterial cell, or virus.”

The research, in its formative stage, addresses key problems facing current paper-based biosensing techniques which are labor-intensive, sometimes costly and inconvenient, and often difficult to mass produce. With state-of-the-art methods to produce “bio-inks”, conventional office ink-jet printers can be used to print man-made DNA molecules with very high molecular weight on paper. The sheer size of the DNA, which produces a signal when a specific disease biomarker is present, is enough to ensure it remains immobilized and therefore stable. The paper sensor emerges from the printer ready- and easy-to-use, like pH paper.

The new technology could be used in many fields where quick answers to important questions are critical. “We could conceivably adapt this for numerous applications, including rapid detection of cancer or monitoring toxins in the water supply,” said Prof. Brennan, “There are hundreds of possibilities.”

The study, by Carrasquilla C. et al., was published online March 27, 2015, in the journal Chemistry.

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