Single-molecule detections at point-of-care: is this a dream?

Date: 19:00:00 - Feb 13 2025

Speakers: Luisa Torsi

Detecting diseases at their earliest stages in asymptomatic individuals is a game-changer for healthcare. It enables timely interventions and better outcomes.

This webinar delves into the revolutionary SiMoT (Single-Molecule-with-a-large-Transistor) bioelectronic platform. This aligns with the World Health Organization’s benchmarks for point-of-care testing (POCT).

Developed as part of the SiMBiT project, SiMoT offers highly sensitive and specific diagnostics using portable and cost-effective technology.

SiMoT is an antigenic POCT that holds the performance level of a molecular test, capable of detecting both protein and DNA single-marker in 0.1 mL of biological fluid. This capability makes it a groundbreaking tool for early disease screening, even in asymptomatic individuals. And it offers unmatched diagnostic precision in a portable format.

The platform's level of performance is currently being assessed in a dedicated in-vivo diagnostic clinical trial involving 1,500 assays of blood and urine samples from oncology patients.

This is expected to bring the technology from TRL5 to TRL7.

Key learnings from this webinar

Early disease detection: discover how the SiMoT platform enables the screening of asymptomatic individuals for diseases before symptoms appear. A pre-clinical trial of pancreatic cancer early detection in blood showing no false negatives in a court of more than 70 patients, is discussed
Exceptional diagnostic performance: explore how SiMoT achieves 96-99% sensitivity and specificity, detecting even single molecules of critical biomarkers
SiMBiT project highlights: learn about the development of a 96-bioelectronic sensor array for multiplexed detection of genetic and protein markers, validated in clinical trials for early cancer screening
Shaping the future of healthcare: gain insights into ongoing clinical trials and how SiMoT technology is set to transform diagnostics through rapid, portable, and cost-efficient solutions.

Watch this session

This is a free OnDemand session

Watch Now

Speakers

Luisa Torsi (Uniba)

Luisa Torsi is a professor of analytical chemistry at the University of Bari and president of the Regional Center on Single-Molecule Digital Assay. She received her Laurea degree in Physics and the PhD in Chemistry from UNIBA and was post-doctoral fellow at Bell Labs in USA. In 2010 Torsi was awarded the Merck prize and in 2019, she received the Distinguished Women Award from the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). Torsi is the winner of the Wilhelm Exner Medal 2021, a prize awarded since 1921 by the Austrian Industrial Association and the Premio del Presidente della Repubblica dell’Accademia dei Lincei. She is also a member of this Accademia. Since 2020 she has been appointed National Representative for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action of Horizon Europe by the Italian Minister for Education and Research. She is also past-president of the European Material Research Society, the first woman to serve in this role. Torsi has also been elected 2017 Fellow of the Material Research Society, for pioneering work in organic (bio) electronic sensors and their use for point-of-care testing. She is also Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry since 2022. Presently she is serving as Vice-President of the Scientific Committee of the Italian National Research Council. She is also the President of MEDISDIH S.c.ar.l., the evolution of the Apulian Mechatronics technology district. Torsi has authored ca. 260 papers, published also in Science and Nature journals. Her works collected almost 18.000 Google Scholar citations resulting in an h-index of 67. Gathered research funding for over 40 M€, comprises several national and European projects, mostly coordinated by her. Torsi is committed to the role-modeling for younger women scientists. In a recent campaign by Fondazione Bracco, she was featured in a story of TOPOLINO (Italian series of Disney comics), as “Louise Torduck”, a successful female scientist of the Calisota valley.