Biolabs on a chip speed pathogen identification

Products that merge biology with glass, plastic, silicon, or even cellulose, biochips are effective tools in the field of molecular identification. Applications include the identification of pathogens in the agro-food industries as well as medical diagnosis for genetic disease screening. This technology may boost traceability and total quality systems for public health protocols.

French company Genolife offers custom-designed biochip solutions for industrial applications. According to Frank Chaubron, co-founder of the company, Biochips offer high speed analysis, requiring just a few hours to obtain an interpretable result.

Biochips are only a few square centimeters in area and can transform into a lab-on-a-chip or even a bioprocessor (an advanced microsystem) that could perform multiple stages of preparation, treatment, and analysis of biological samples in parallel.

Also carrying out the groundwork for labs-on-a-chip and miniaturization is Genesystems, a Brittany-based company in western France. The firm is developing an integrated analysis system including a device for processing samples and laboratories-on-a-chip. Currently being launched, these techniques are allowing Genesystems to enter the market for bacteriological surveillance, including listeria, salmonella, and other bacteria responsible for toxi-infections, and also for the detection of GMOs in the agro-food industry.

Further information can be found at www.infotechfrance.com.