'Lab-on-a-Strip': Scientists Develop Breakthrough Test Strip for Instant Disease Diagnosis

Patients may soon be tested for any diseases and know the results instantly by only using a strip of paper. Scientists from McMaster University in Canada developed this new technology and published the results in the Angewandt Chemie Journal.

The breakthrough invention, dubbed "lab-on-a-strip," is featured with a compound that reacts and changes the colors of the paper when it detects a virus, bacteria or cancer cells in the patient's blood, saliva or sweat samples. The device is simple enough that anyone may be able to use it and, in doing so, it could minimize backlogs of tests done in many laboratories.

The strip of paper works to detect and target the patient's DNA or RNA sequence, so one molecule of the sample can be multiplied into thousands to test for other diseases. Silicon Republic cited that, with this feature, one strip can be used to test one type of illness while another strip may be used to check for something else. Consequently, the strip could also swabbed or wiped on doorknobs and toilet bowls to test for deadly diseases like Ebola.

The Hamilton Spectator reported that the idea is not entirely new as strips for diagnosis have been developed for testing soil pH levels and glucose levels for diabetics and pregnant women. However, it's the first time that such an innovation is making use of DNA and RNA.

 "There's a huge need for this type of technology," said one of the scientists, Yingfu Li, in the press release. Li also suggested that their invention could be manufactured on the cheap, thereby allowing patients to avoid paying for a series of expensive tests. On the paper is a naturally-derived compound called pullulan, which can be easily mass produced. It could also be viable for use when stored properly for months.

However, commercialization might take a while and the scientists acknowledge that there are still stumbling blocks to hurdle. For one thing, they are still working on improving the test strips to better differentiate DNA and RNA. Their laboratory is also one of the few research centers that can manufacture the test strips. Large scale requirements have yet to be approved by the government, which could take two or three years.

"Just because you made it work manually in the laboratory, does not mean you can make it in a way that is manufacturable," said John Brennan, who heads the Biointerfaces Institute at McMaster.