Researchers at Aalto University, Otaniemi, Espoo, Finland, have developed a durable and affordable nanofibrillar cellulose(NFC) film platform to support medical testing. New environmentally friendly, reliable NFC platforms are more diverse than plastic films, they report.
The new type of film can be made to be hydrophobic, hydrophilic, and the electric charge can be changed. This might create the ability to conduct many different medical tests at home or in physicians’ offices instead of waiting for results from laboratories.
Previous attempts to produce a NFC platform failed when the porous plate absorbed the sample. The scientists at Aalto created a new method of producing a water-proof gel that does not absorb samples. North Carolina State University participated in the study in addition to Aalto University.
They say that this will make it easier to detect microbes that cause illnesses in the physician’s office, or to monitor allergens at home, among other uses.
