Lunaphore was born out of 9 years of R&D at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and develops laboratory automation solutions with potential for cancer research and tissue diagnostics* based on a unique microfluidic technology, called Fast Fluidic Exchange (FFeX).
Lunaphore’s overall goal is to decrease assay time while maintaining the quality of its results.
Our technology produces results that correlate more accurately with real biomarker amounts compared to conventional methods. Preliminary tests have shown that such precision might not only decrease the number of ambiguous outcomes but also potentially reveal normally hidden biomarker information for a better diagnosis.
This is possible thanks to FFeX, where reagents are actively transported to the tissue surface, filling the volume in the microfluidic chamber homogenously and within a second. Preliminary tests on real patients suggest that this technology could reach higher precision in quantitative diagnostics results compared to standard hospital techniques.
The microfluidic tissue processor developed at Lunaphore is a multifunctional tool to automate tissue incubations for many different types of analysis and can be used by researchers to optimize those protocols at a much faster pace.
One example, is the evaluation of multiple biomarker targets on a single slide which is often performed with multiplexed immunofluorescence (IF) techniques. The potential for reducing the time taken to obtain a multiplexed IF staining to just a few hours may enable same-day immunophenotyping of tissue sections.
Other examples are ISH/FISH techniques as well as in-situ sequencing protocols, which have been successfully tested in proof of-concept studies.
FFeX technology allows precise control of reaction time and help decrease the overall immunoassay time to a few minutes (compared to the 2-5h of current automation standards).
The possibilities opened up by ultra rapid IHC could ultimately allow specific biomarker testing during a biopsy procedure for more precise diagnoses. This may help physicians to reduce the number of additional interventions required and support them in their decision-making, potentially improving patient outcomes.
