IIT Guwahati develops hand-held device to detect bacteria without going to lab

ForumIAS announcing GS Foundation Program for UPSC CSE 2025-26 from 19 April. Click Here for more information.

ForumIAS Answer Writing Focus Group (AWFG) for Mains 2024 commencing from 24th June 2024. The Entrance Test for the program will be held on 28th April 2024 at 9 AM. To know more about the program visit: https://forumias.com/blog/awfg2024

  1. Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology,Guwahati have developed a low-cost,hand-held device to detect bacteria called as Organic Field Effect Transistor(OFET).
  2. The device has the ability to detect bacteria rapidly without the need for cell culture and microbiological assays.
  3. The OFET is an electronic device that works on the principle which charges in the vicinity of the channels of certain semiconductors which can induce a current in them.Thus,the charges on the surface of the bacterium induces a current in the OFET which is registered and read.
  4. The device can not only detect bacteria but also differentiate between Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria.
  5. The device was developed in a bid to overcome the prevailing challenge of detecting bacterial infection through time-consuming techniques.
  6. The device will enable rapid detection of bacteria which is important not only in healthcare but also help in monitoring environmental applications. At present,the detection of bacteria in body fluids is done in laboratories.
Print Friendly and PDF
Blog
Academy
Community