CSIR develops device to run health diagnostics, test adulteration

Institutions of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have designed ‘FluoriPCR’, a device which is expected to revolutionise health diagnostics and testing of food commodities.
Developed by the CSIR– Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (CSIR – IITR) and CSIR – Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute, Pilani (CEERI), the FluoriPCR integrates four machines used for biochemical and molecular testing in health, diagnostics and food safety.
CSIR-IITR director, Dr Bhaskar Narayan, said that the device has been developed as part of CSIR-IITR’s Advancing Technological Leads for Assuring Safety of Food (ATLAS) under CSIR’s Mission Mode Project.
CSIR-IITR has tested FluoriPCR for identifying mixing in meat products and the authenticity of meat species. Buying equipment for carrying out these tests is generally expensive and costs about ₹35 lakh collectively. On the other hand, this device can be made available at ₹1-1.5 lakh, a scientist involved in the innovation process said.
“Analysing samples with the machine developed, CSIR-IITR has detected contamination or mixing in meat products and the authenticity of four meat species. This helps us to find if the sample is mixed with undesired meat components,” said a scientist from CSIR-IITR.
This is a compact device which can easily be carried anywhere, and more importantly, it is customisable. It can also be used for testing adulteration in other food components which have DNA, like wheat and pulses. This will also help in testing the presence of bacteria, viruses and fungi and allergens like gluten and soy in food.
The device has also been tested by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) certified laboratory.
“The industries interested in getting the technology transferred can reach out to us. This device can be helpful for academic and research institutions, skill development and training centres and diagnostic labs,” said Dr Narayan.