DINAMICS

Kaygin S. (Manager of Partner Company Hemosoft)

The objective of the DINAMICS project was to develop an integrated and cost-effective warning system for the protection of the civilian population from bioterrorism. In the course of the project lifecycle they have made a number of achievements.

The project team produced a prototype lab-on-a-chip platform to quickly, sensitively and simultaneously detect a multitude of pathogens in water. The system can take water directly from the water supply system (pipes, reservoirs, etc.) and feed it to the analysis platform. Large sample volumes are necessary to guarantee the highest security level for the population.

The detection system consists of five integrated microfluidics based modules (Lysis, DNA-isolation, DNA-amplification, signal-enhancement and detection) that are connected to an alarm system. The alarm system can automatically send warning messages to the authorities, who then can take the appropriate actions. The time consuming laboratory procedure with five manual procedures that would take at least 10 hours from taking the sample to result will be reduced to a fully automated process that will be completed within 2 hours.

Proof-of-principle tests have been performed for a model organisms on the module level. The system functionality has been verified but field tests of the whole system were out of the scope of the project. Disposable microfluidic chips and cartridges have been manufactured and used for validation studies. Simulation tools and rapid prototyping technology have been applied for design and validation.

The DINAMICS results demonstrate that it is feasible to implement an integrated and automated warning system for the protection of the civilian water supply network from bioterrorism. DINAMICS also anticipates that the results of its research work will gain entry into the medical diagnostics of infectious diseases and could revolutionise the methods being used there at present. The innovation has also applications in the food industry and pharmaceutical testing.