A user-friendly nucleic acid detection device, called QolorEX, uses plasmonic nanostructures to provide colorimetric readouts with gold-standard-test accuracy for fully automated, deployable multiplex disease diagnostics. Here, we explore its journey towards commercialization, highlighting its underlying approach and the challenges faced in bringing this technology to the market.
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Acknowledgements
S.G.Y. is a recipient of a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Government of Canada. Beeta Biomehas been supported by awards from McGill Innovation Fund, Clinical Innovation Platform from Montreal General Hospital, and Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie. S.S.M. is the recipient of Mitacs Entrepreneur International awards, 2024. S.M. is a Canada Research Chair in Nano/Biosensing Devices and recipient of the 2022–2024 NSERC Alliance Mission grant, the 2022–2023 William and Rhea Seath Awards in Engineering Innovation, and the 2021–2024 CIHR Emerging COVID-19 Research Gaps and Priorities. T.A. is a recipient of a FRQNT doctoral fellowship. R.S.M. is a recipient of NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarships–Doctoral.
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S.S.M. and S.G.Y. contributed to the preparation of the initial manuscript draft and subsequent revisions. R.S.M., T.A. and S.M. revised and proofread the manuscript. S.S.M. and S.M. designed and supervised the project.
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S.S.M., R.S.M. and S.M. are cofounders of Beeta Biomed, a startup company focused on commercializing nanostructured diagnostic devices and biosensors.
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Other high-risk pathogens: https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news
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Mahshid, S.S., Yedire, S.G., Moakhar, R.S. et al. A nucleic acid detection device for rapid multiplexed molecular disease diagnostics. Nat Rev Bioeng 3, 187–189 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-025-00288-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-025-00288-4
