Foodborne illnesses caused by the ingestion of foods contaminated with pathogens and/or their toxins arestill one of the major public health threats worldwide. Disposable devices, allowing the on-site, early andmultiplexed quantitative detection of pathogenic bacteria are therefore highly sought. Herein, we reportbiochips that are able to quantitatively detect two of the most common food-associated pathogens,namely Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus from the suspensions of bacteria stationaryphasebroth culture. With a detection limit as low as 5.00 CFU ml-1 for L. monocytogenes and 1.26 CFUml-1 for S. aureus, our platform may be a promising point-of-care device not only for clinical and fooddiagnostics but also for biosecurity purposes.

Development of lab-on-chip devices attracted large interest for detection of specific analyte/markers, cellular studies and drug screening. In the case of DNA, one of the biggest problems is the low concentration of target sequences in biological samples, which is the reason for typical use of amplification steps. In this paper, we discuss our results in developing DNA sensors integrated with microfluidic components in biochips for DNA recognition. Two different approaches are investigated and compared which are based respectively on impedance and magnetoresistive transduction. © 2014 IEEE.

A flow-injection impedimetric immunosensor for the sensitive, direct and label-free detection of cholera toxin is reported. Alimit of detection smaller than 10 pM was achieved, a value thousands of times lower than the lethal dose. The developed chips fulfil the requirement of low cost and quick reply of the assay and are expected to enable field screening, prompt diagnosis and medical intervention without the need of specialized personnel and expensive equipment, a perspective of special relevance for use in developing countries. Since the chip layout includes two sensing areas each one with a 2 x 2 sensor array, our biochips can allow statistical or (alternatively) multiplex analysis of biorecognition events between antibodies immobilized on each working electrode and different antigens flowing into the chamber.

Celiac disease (CD) is one of the most common digestive disorders caused by an abnormal immune reaction to gluten. So far there are no available therapies, the only solution is a strict gluten-free diet, which however could be very challenging as gluten can be hidden in many food products. Furthermore an additional problem is related to cross-contamination of nominal gluten-free foods with gluten-based ones during manufacturing. Here we propose a lab on chip platform as a powerful tool to help food manufacturers to evaluate the real amount of gluten in their products by an accurate in-situ control of the production chain and maybe to specify the real gluten content in packages labeling. Our portable gliadin-immunochips, based on an electrochemical impedance spectroscopy transduction method, were first calibrated and then validated for both liquid and solid food matrixes by analyzing different beers and flours. The high specificity of our assay was also demonstrated by performing control experiments on rice and potatoes flours containing prolamin-like proteins. We achieved limit of quantification of 0.5 ppm for gliadin that is 20 times lower than the worldwide limit established for gluten-free food while the method of analysis is faster and cheaper than currently employed ELISA-based methods. Moreover our results on food samples were validated through a mass spectrometry standard analysis. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An important goal of biomedical research is the development of tools for high-throughput evaluation of drug effects and cytotoxicity tests. Here we demonstrate EIS cell chips able to monitor cell growth, morphology, adhesion and their changes as a consequence of treatment with drugs or toxic compounds. As a case study, we investigate the uptake of copper ions and its effect on two cell lines: B104 and HeLa cells. For further understanding, we also carried out in parallel with EIS studies, a complete characterization of cell morphology and changes induced by copper ions through complementary methodologies (including state-of-the-art AFM, viability test and Western blot). Our results reveal a strong correlation between EIS data and both MTT test and AFM characterization so our chip can be used as powerful tools in all biology lab in combination with other standard methods giving additional information that can be useful in a complete and deep investigation of a biological process. This chip can be used even alone replacing in vitro drug tests based on conventional biochemical methods, being very cheap and reusable and allowing to perform cytotoxicity tests without using any expensive reagent or equipment.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive and lethal cancers in Europe and the United States. It has a very low 5 years-survival rate and its diagnosis is often late and imprecise due to the lack of specificity of currently used markers for PDAC. As previously demonstrated PDAC patients' sera may contain autoantibodies towards phosphorylated a-enolase (ENOA), which in combination with other standard markers can increase specificity in diagnosis of PDAC. In this context we realized a microfluidic platform with integrated EIS biosensors. We achieved a specific antibodies detection by immobilizing onto electrodes peptides corresponding to a portion of ENOA. Phosphorylation of peptides was found to influence the recognition of antibodies in PDAC patients' sera detected by the developed biochip thus validating the EIS technique as a strong tool for quick, cost-saving and label-free analysis of serum samples. Biochip results are in agreement with those from traditional techniques, such as ELISA and western blot, but measurements are much more sensitive and specific, increasing the possibility of PDAC diagnosis. In addition this approach is faster and more reproducible compared to traditional techniques making the developed biochips ideal for a quick, cost-saving and label-free analysis of serum samples.

The object of the present invention is to provide an impedimetric biochip for the simultaneous diagnosis of gynecological pathologies related to C. albicans, S. agalactiae or C.trachomatis by using the vaginal fluid of the patient. This invention enables a significant reduction of examination times if compared with the present-day techniques. Another important feature of the present invention is its ability to provide a highly sensitive detection, accurate and specific for the described diseases.

The object of the present invention is to provide an impedimetric biochip for the simultaneous diagnosis of gynecological pathologies related to C. albicans, S. agalactiae or C.trachomatis by using the vaginal fluid of the patient. This invention enables a significant reduction of examination times if compared with the present-day techniques. Another important feature of the present invention is its ability to provide a highly sensitive detection, accurate and specific for the described diseases.