Archer Materials Confirms Suitability of Silicon Foundation for Potassium-Sensing Biochip Device

Initial data from first-stage testing of Archer Materials’ (ASX: AXE) blood potassium graphene Biochip project have shown the technology suitable for silicon for point-of-care and at-home diagnostic applications.

Archer expects the findings to de-risk its supply chain, reduce unit costs, and accelerate the pathway towards manufacture and commercialisation.

The company is now on track to finalise a working prototype and progress toward clinical trials in the new year as it moves towards project validation and commercial readiness.

IMEC Development Partnership

Archer has partnered with the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC) in Belgium to develop the Biochip and blood potassium sensor, with IMEC leveraging its semiconductor technology and expertise to enable the use of graphene and silicon-based devices during testing.

First results have shown the silicon devices can meet blood potassium accuracy requirements, matching Archer’s graphene field effect transistor (gFET) performance as well as the clinical CLIA standard.

Testing demonstrated strong potential for a high-performance, scalable, and clinically-compliant biosensor platform—the first major step in accelerating the Biochip’s development and commercialisation.

IMEC has fabricated three Biochip-based sensor devices using its established silicon wafer processing technology which it then modified, functionalised, and tested using Archer’s proprietary methods to assess their potassium-sensing performance.

The devices have delivered shorter conditioning and stabilisation times of around 30 minutes, which is a significant improvement on current gFET lab testing results.

Pathway to Commercialisation

Archer chief executive officer Dr Simon Ruffell said the initial data marked an important milestone for the company’s Biochip program.

“Demonstrating that our technology can be built using silicon rather than graphene can significantly broaden our manufacturing options and strengthen our path to commercialisation,” he said.

“Leveraging IMEC’s world-class silicon fabrication capabilities alongside our proprietary sensor functionalisation methods means we are in a position to […] expand our future applications in point-of-care and at-home diagnostics.”

Dr Ruffell said the company would now begin planning the regulatory approvals pathway for the Biochip project, and work towards a new major project with IMEC focused on potassium sensing for chronic kidney disease.