Currently, blood samples taken for tests like proteomic analyses using mass spectrometry must be prepared manually by professionals. To save time and ensure the reproducibility of these tricky tests, CEA researchers developed a compact, automated blood-sample preparation kit. 

The system consists of a credit-card-sized microfluidic cartridge and an instrument that runs it. Biological reproducibility, repeatability, and depth-of-analysis tests were completed on a functional demonstrator. The tests revealed greater sensitivity and a deeper analysis of biomarkers over manual sample preparation.

In addition, the system is compact enough for point-of-care testing. Blood can be processed immediately, and sample preparation time is just two hours (down from two days). These advantages will pave the way toward much more efficient patient care. The system has garnered interest from labs as a potential tool to assess patient responses to anti-cancer drugs, test for diseases, and discover new biomarkers associated with certain pathologies.