Researchers have developed a lightweight device that connects to your cell phone and detects allergens in food samples.
Beyond a simple "yes" or "no" answer as to whether allergens are present, the device can also quantify how much of an allergen is in a sample, in parts per million.
A team from the University of California, Los Angeles Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science developed the device called the iTube.
The iTube attachment uses the cell phone's built-in camera, along with an accompanying smart-phone application that runs a test with the same high level of sensitivity a laboratory would.
Although several products that detect allergens in foods are currently available, they are complex and require bulky equipment, making them ill-suited for use in public settings, according to the UCLA researchers.
The iTube was developed to address these issues, said Aydogan Ozcan, leader of the research team.
More From This Section
Weighing less than 56 grammes, the attachment analyses a test tube-based allergen-concentration test known as a colorimetric assay.
To test for allergens, food samples are initially ground up and mixed in a test tube with hot water and an extraction solvent; this mixture is allowed to set for several minutes.
Then, following a step-by-step procedure, the prepared sample is mixed with a series of other reactive testing liquids.
The entire preparation takes roughly 20 minutes. When the sample is ready, it is measured optically for allergen concentration through the iTube platform, using the cell phone's camera and a smart application running on the phone.
The kit digitally converts raw images from the cell-phone camera into concentration measurements detected in the food samples.
The iTube platform can test for a variety of allergens, including peanuts, almonds, eggs, gluten and hazelnuts, Ozcan said in a statements.
The UCLA team successfully tested the iTube using commercially available cookies, analysing the samples to determine if they had any harmful amount of peanuts, a potential allergen.
"We envision that this cell phone-based allergen testing platform could be very valuable, especially for parents, as well as for schools, restaurants and other public settings," Ozcan said.
The research will be published in the journal Lab on a Chip.