Traditional microbiological testing creates a critical timing vulnerability. Bacterial testing requires up to three days as bacteria must be cultured on agar plates and incubated until colonies become visible. During this waiting period, contaminated products often complete processing and enter distribution channels – sometimes reaching retail shelves before laboratories can confirm hazards.
University of Maastricht spinout Sensip-dx has collapsed this timeline to just 15 minutes. The company’s sensor technology uses molecularly imprinted polymers – synthetic materials engineered with molecular binding sites for specific bacteria – combined with thermal resistance measurements to identify pathogenic presence in real time.
The manufacturing process involves stopping polymer curing mid-process and pressing living bacteria into the half-cured material, creating both physical imprints and chemical bonds. When polymerisation resumes, the bacteria die, leaving precisely shaped binding sites that recognise matching pathogens.
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