International collaboration makes the world a healthier place

Deakin University has played a key role in developing a novel Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) chip for DNA amplification that will make it easier and cheaper to test for infection diseases like swine flu.

The innovation, now winning major awards overseas, is the work of PhD student Sugumar Dharmalingam carried out under the supervision of Deakin’s Associate Professor Lingxue Kong and Prof Asma Ismail Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research & Innovation at Universiti Sains Malaysia.

“This is a real international collaboration,” said Associate Professor Kong. “I am very proud of Sugumar and what he has achieved.

“He came to Deakin on a scholarship from Malaysia and he has worked incredibly hard to achieve this breakthrough that will really make a difference once it is adopted by testing laboratories, something we believe will happen next year.

PCR is a technique for copying a piece of DNA a billion-fold. The process creates a chain of many pieces. The pieces are nucleotides, and the chain is a strand of DNA.

“With existing methods of testing, you need a certain number of samples to make it worthwhile to carry out the tests “ Sugumar Dharmalingam explained as he sat in the coffee shop at the Geelong Technology Precinct holding his medals and award certificates from the International Trade Exhibition in Malaysia last month.

“There is also a delay in getting the results.

“With our new procedure, you only need to have one sample, and you can get the results instantly.

“With diseases like swine flu, people aren’t left waiting for days to get the results and that will make it easier for health officials to respond more quickly to potential epidemics.

“The cost per the new procedure is around $US 1.50, compared to about $20.

“Additionally you don’t need to be a skilled technician to carry out the test, so there are enormous savings and advantages from what we have developed.

“My target now is to get a prototype ready by the end of the year for field evaluation.”

Sugumar Dharmalingam is also planning to team up with the World Health Organisation to further develop the device, which has already had much interest from commercial operators.

He was particularly proud of the recognition his device received at the International Trade Exhibition.

It won three awards, more than any other entry.

These were made up of a Malaysian Gold Award and two special awards from German and Japanese industry groups.

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