Archer Materials partners with Paragraf to accelerate development of potassium-sensing Biochip device

Archer Materials (ASX: AXE) has signed a $450,000 deal with UK-based graphene electronics company Paragraf to develop its Biochip potassium-sensing device for in-home testing of chronic kidney disease.

The six-month project will accelerate technical progress towards meeting the blood potassium sensing target product profile using a graphene field-effect transistor (gFET).

Both companies will leverage their expertise in semiconductor manufacturing, biological sensing, chemistry and medical diagnostics to improve the accuracy of blood potassium sensing.

Staged project

Stage 1 of the project will involve optimising measurement protocol, improving gFET quality checks and initiating proprietary work on sensor functionalisation to enhance accuracy, as well as generating data to improve foundry fabrication processes and device qualification procedures.

Stage 2 will include a redesign to move from lab-testing devices to more product-representative chips as well as continued work on sensor stability, lifetime and robustness.

The project will generate several pieces of intellectual property that will be owned by Archer and used to enable the integration of the sensor chip into a cartridge system.

Sensor prototype

Archer chief executive officer Simon Ruffell said the company was keen to bring the at-home testing device to market.

“Formalising an agreement with Paragraf accelerates the Biochip’s development and will be critical for producing a first sensor prototype,” he said.

“This will allow us to continue building strategic partnerships to support latter stages of product development and clinical trials for regulatory approval.”

Graphene-based devices

Paragraf is pioneering the commercialisation of mass-produced graphene-based electronic devices using standard semiconductor processes.

Graphene Hall sensors and gFETs currently in production employ the company’s proprietary graphene growth process to fully harness the material’s many features.

Hylid agreement

The Paragraf partnership builds on a recent agreement between Archer and Hylid Diagnostics to develop a potassium measurement product for the testing of chronic kidney disease.

Hylid specialises in the development of novel optical sensors to bring affordable, lab-quality blood testing to the home.

The company’s first focus area is the management of chronic kidney disease in the North American and European markets.