Dr Rebecca Soffe fabricating the A1 Biochip
Image: Archer MaterialsArcher Materials has announced the commencement of development for its lab-on-a-chip device, the A1 Biochip.
“Archer has made a step-change in advancing its graphene-based biosensor technology development to newly commence its lab-on-a-chip A1 Biochip project,” the company told shareholders in a statement issued to the ASX.
The company said it was possible in a short period of time due to bringing its biotechnology development in-house.
Archer said it is now able to miniaturise its biosensing processes to chip formats while retaining its IP. Developing the biochip in-house should allow Archer to accelerate commercialisation of the biochip, it added.
The biochip development involves miniaturising medical lab tests onto an integrated circuit, a single chip that is only a few millimetres in size.
Archer CEO Dr Mohammad Choucair said doing so is incredibly difficult.
Features of the first componentry of Archer’s A1 Biochip, the company said, include the on-chip microfluidic channels that allow for gas or liquid sampling and the miniaturised electrodes for the biosensing areas — microfabricated using gold and titanium.
Biochip development will involve designing these components for further miniaturisation and are intended to incorporate graphene materials. Both aspects, Archer said, are required to validate commercial advantages of ultra-sensitivity and device integration.
“Miniaturising and integrating a lab-on-chip device also provides improved accuracy and a substantial decrease in the time required to obtain a diagnostic test result, which are key commercial barriers to point of care medical diagnostic disease testing,” the company said.
The development is led by Dr Rebecca Soffe, who joined Archer in September.
Archer will work with a German biotech partner to determine potential candidate biomolecules relevant to in-demand disease diagnostic tests, as part of the commercial development of the A1 Biochip.
The company is building the biochip in the Sydney University-based Foundry, alongside its 12CQ quantum computing chip development.
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