qByte: An open-source isothermal fluorimeter for democratizing analysis of nucleic acids, proteins and cells.

IF 9.8 1区 生物学 Q1 Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Francisco J Quero, Guy Aidelberg, Hortense Vielfaure, Yann Huon de Kermadec, Severine Cazaux, Amir Pandi, Ana Pascual-Garrigos, Anibal Arce, Samuel Sakyi, Urs Gaudenz, Fernan Federici, Jennifer C Molloy, Ariel B Lindner
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Access to affordable and reliable scientific instrumentation remains a significant barrier to the democratization of healthcare and scientific research. In the field of biotechnology, in particular, the complexity, cost, and infrastructure requirements of many instruments continue to limit their accessibility, especially in resource-limited environments. Despite the recent increase in the development of open-source tools, driven by advances in digital fabrication and electronic prototyping, few of these projects have reached large-scale implementation or validation in real-world settings. Here, we present qByte, an open-source, 8-tube isothermal fluorimeter designed to overcome these barriers by offering a cost-effective ($60) yet production-ready solution. qByte leverages standard digital manufacturing and Printed Circuit Board (PCB) assembly techniques and is designed to be portable, making it ideal for both laboratory and field use. The device has been benchmarked against commercial real-time thermocyclers and spectrophotometers, showing comparable results across four key applications: nucleic acid amplification and detection, including the on-site diagnosis of human parasites in Ghana, analysis of protein activity and stability, genetic construct characterization, and bacterial viability tests. Taken together, our results proved qByte as flexible and reliable equipment for a variety of biological tests and applications, while its affordability and open-source design simplify further development and allow adaptation to the needs of future users.

qByte:一个开源的等温荧光仪,用于大众化的核酸、蛋白质和细胞分析。
获得负担得起和可靠的科学仪器仍然是保健和科学研究民主化的一个重大障碍。特别是在生物技术领域,许多工具的复杂性、成本和基础设施要求继续限制其可及性,特别是在资源有限的环境中。尽管最近在数字制造和电子原型技术进步的推动下,开源工具的发展有所增加,但这些项目中很少有在现实世界中大规模实施或验证的。在这里,我们提出qByte,一个开源的,8管等温荧光计,旨在克服这些障碍,提供一个具有成本效益(60美元),但生产准备的解决方案。qByte利用标准的数字制造和印刷电路板(PCB)组装技术,设计为便携式,使其成为实验室和现场使用的理想选择。该设备已与商用实时热循环仪和分光光度计进行了基准测试,在四个关键应用中显示出可比的结果:核酸扩增和检测,包括加纳人类寄生虫的现场诊断、蛋白质活性和稳定性分析、遗传结构表征和细菌活力测试。综上所述,我们的结果证明qByte是一种灵活可靠的设备,适用于各种生物测试和应用,而其可负担性和开源设计简化了进一步的开发,并允许适应未来用户的需求。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
PLoS Biology
PLoS Biology BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY-BIOLOGY
CiteScore
15.40
自引率
2.00%
发文量
359
审稿时长
3-8 weeks
期刊介绍: PLOS Biology is the flagship journal of the Public Library of Science (PLOS) and focuses on publishing groundbreaking and relevant research in all areas of biological science. The journal features works at various scales, ranging from molecules to ecosystems, and also encourages interdisciplinary studies. PLOS Biology publishes articles that demonstrate exceptional significance, originality, and relevance, with a high standard of scientific rigor in methodology, reporting, and conclusions. The journal aims to advance science and serve the research community by transforming research communication to align with the research process. It offers evolving article types and policies that empower authors to share the complete story behind their scientific findings with a diverse global audience of researchers, educators, policymakers, patient advocacy groups, and the general public. PLOS Biology, along with other PLOS journals, is widely indexed by major services such as Crossref, Dimensions, DOAJ, Google Scholar, PubMed, PubMed Central, Scopus, and Web of Science. Additionally, PLOS Biology is indexed by various other services including AGRICOLA, Biological Abstracts, BIOSYS Previews, CABI CAB Abstracts, CABI Global Health, CAPES, CAS, CNKI, Embase, Journal Guide, MEDLINE, and Zoological Record, ensuring that the research content is easily accessible and discoverable by a wide range of audiences.
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