LETTER TO THE EDITOR Year : 2022  |  Volume : 33  |  Issue : 3  |  Page : 157-158

TriSilix - A PCR like lab on a chip infection test aiming toward novel portable diagnostics

LV Simhachalam Kutikuppala1, Kanishk K Adhit2
1 Department of Surgery, Konaseema Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Foundation (KIMS & RF), Amalapuram, Andhra Pradesh, India
2 Faculty of Medicine, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, Maharashtra, India

Date of Submission28-Jan-2022Date of Acceptance15-Feb-2022Date of Web Publication25-Aug-2022

Correspondence Address:
Kanishk K Adhit
Faculty of Medicine, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, Maharashtra
India

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None

DOI: 10.4103/UROS.UROS_21_22

How to cite this article:
Simhachalam Kutikuppala L V, Adhit KK. TriSilix - A PCR like lab on a chip infection test aiming toward novel portable diagnostics. Urol Sci 2022;33:157-8
How to cite this URL:
Simhachalam Kutikuppala L V, Adhit KK. TriSilix - A PCR like lab on a chip infection test aiming toward novel portable diagnostics. Urol Sci [serial online] 2022 [cited 2022 Aug 31];33:157-8. Available from: https://www.e-urol-sci.com/text.asp?2022/33/3/157/354710

Dear Editor,

With the increased number of COVID-19 cases worldwide, the importance of a more efficient screening and diagnostic tool is a high priority for all major scientists working in medicine and bioengineering. However, currently, we have two major tests used in most countries – rapid antigen-antibody and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) – with the latter being the most effective among the two. In addition, the time required for the test results is very long, which makes controlling disease spread difficult and tedious. Low-cost diagnosis and rapid screening are the two most important criteria to ensure a particular screening method can be efficient and improves the time taken for each screening.[1] Despite the COVID-19 disease being present for more than a year, there is no rapid, low-cost, single-unit, and handheld device with the integrated function of detection and amplification. As a result, we must depend heavily on a centralized laboratory with complex machines and a specialized workforce to detect COVID-19.

There is a new technology, which scientists have been working on for some time now, called the TriSilix chip. It checks all requirements of being an effective and faster screening tool; if the research is finished and approved by respective organizations, it might be the next major advancement in testing pathogen-based diseases. TriSilix chip is a disposable, low-cost, silicon-based transducer, and its work is based on a process that involves amplification and electrochemical detection of pathogen-specific sequences in the patient's nucleic acid (NA).[2] NAs are the best way to detect pathogens, and many successful testing methods use the same formula to use NA to detect a specific pathogen; PCR and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) use the same technique. NAs can be amplified and make it easy to detect pathogens; NA testing and reagents can be produced faster and in large amounts.[3]

It is essential to make testing cheaper, affordable, and accessible to the public, especially for people in the rural areas of low-income countries, where the clinics are generally far away from their homes. It will be expensive to travel long distances to get medical help. This chip can do wonders if it is made available to patients, as it can also be used to detect and monitor infections, such as urinary tract infections, which often recur despite the use of antibiotics.

Therefore, this article focused on differentiating between the other tests, such as RT-PCR, LAMP, and this new innovative method, TriSilix, a PCR-like lab-on-a-chip. Its functioning and its impact on the world as a testing device are what make it better.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

 

  References 
1.Tymm C, Zhou J, Tadimety A, Burklund A, Zhang JX. Scalable COVID-19 detection enabled by lab-on-chip biosensors. Cell Mol Bioeng 2020;13:1-17.  
    2.Nunez-Bajo E, Silva Pinto Collins A, Kasimatis M, Cotur Y, Asfour T, Tanriverdi U, et al. Disposable silicon-based all-in-one micro-qPCR for rapid on-site detection of pathogens. Nat Commun 2020;11:6176.  
    3.Imperial College London. Lab-on-Chip Infection Test for Faster Diagnostics. Tectacles. Available from: https://tectales.com/bio-tech-it/ lab-on-chip-infection-test-for-faster-diagnostics.html. [Last accessed on 2021 May 24].