New cell-on-chip technology improves allergy diagnostics

Important results from the project

Allergies are affecting the lives of more than 60 million people in Europe and basophils are one key player in the allergic reaction. A method for an accurate point-of-care test (POCT) of basophil function is therefore needed. We aim to develop an objective and safe cellular test for diagnosis and monitoring of allergic individuals. It will significantly add health economic values due to improved capacity to diagnose/monitor personalized treatments, replace time consuming and less safe in vivo challenges, and making the analyses more accessible at point of care and cost-effective.

Expected long term effects

We introduce a novel microfluidic based basophil activation test. The microfluidic device was capable of capturing basophils directly from whole blood followed by in vitro activation and quantification of activation markers. Expected effects are: (i) It can replace time consuming and less safe in vivo challenges and flow cytometry at diagnosis and monitoring/optimizing new treatments. (ii) Measurements of a patient´s allergen sensitivity become more accessible and resource-efficient. (iii) Time and money is saved for individual patients, health care and society.

Approach and implementation

Our approach is a diagnostic test based on a cell-on-chip system with basophil specific monoclonal antibodies that can capture viable basophils, from a small volume of blood, in one step without prior sample preparation. The design and execution of the project is divided into three phases with specific milestones. Phase 1, all steps for the design and development of the microfluidic were developed. Phase 2, experiments were performed on allergic and non-allergic patients in a simulated activation. Phase 3, clinical samples were used to evaluate the microfluidic device.