Current pathogen testing methods can take up to 7 days to yield results. This delay leads to production halts in the food and pharma industries with strict quality control requirements. The delay is mainly due to complex sample preparation and the inability to detect contaminants in real-time.
In response, a startup named FluiDect has developed a new biosensor that detects pathogens in complex liquids without sample preparation. Their devices provide real-time data, allowing operators to respond immediately to contaminations and optimize their processes. The technology works with complex substances like raw milk, wastewater, and cream juice, making it adaptable across multiple industries.
To better understand their technology and its commercial feasibility, we spoke to Dr. Tobias Schröter, CEO of FluiDect. This article is a brief overview of the whole conversation.
This interview is part of our exclusive Scouted By GreyB series. Here, we talk to the founder of innovative startups to understand how their solutions address critical industry challenges and help ensure compliance with industry and government regulations. (Know more about startups scouted by GreyB!)
“Our technology can skip sample preparation entirely, bringing analysis directly to industrial facilities for complex samples like raw milk or wastewater—something that wasn’t possible before.”
Dr. Tobias Schröter
Dr. Tobias Schröter is the CEO of FluiDect. His microfluidics and biosensor technology background aligns with the company’s mission to revolutionize microbial detection and quality control processes. Dr. Schröter’s leadership focuses on scaling up the proprietary technology for mass production and ensuring its compatibility with various industrial applications.
Overview: Revolutionizing Real-Time Pathogen Detection in Complex Liquids
FluiDect specializes in advanced pathogen detection technologies for food, water, agriculture, and pharmaceutical industries. The startup has developed a biosensor technology for real-time detection of microorganisms in complex liquids. Their “Fluorescent Resonator Signature” technology uses polymer-based microbeads to detect pathogens in various liquids without requiring complex sample preparation.
While the microbeads are tiny enough to be categorized as microplastics, they are not intended to be harmful. The technology is designed for controlled environments, ensuring safe use in detecting microbial, protein, and substances in liquids.
Founded in 2021, the company offers devices that can be placed at production lines or integrated directly into industrial systems. This provides continuous monitoring capabilities for industries ranging from water treatment to food processing and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
What exactly is FluiDect’s technology, and how does it work?
Dr. Tobias: Our core technology, Fluorescent Resonator Signature, uses microbeads as sensors. These tiny particles are about one-tenth the width of a human hair. They swim around in the liquid sample and capture specific target organisms we’re searching for. They then remotely signal that they’ve captured something, and we can read them optically. This works even in complex samples without any sample preparation.
Traditional biosensors use microfluidic channels with various drawbacks. Our microbeads can interact freely with samples, providing much better detection capabilities. We can detect bacteria, protein concentrations for pharmaceutical fermentation, and even artificial materials like PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances).
How does your technology differ from existing solutions in the market?
Dr. Tobias: Companies have tried to solve this challenge for decades by optimizing standard laboratory testing for industrial use. However, these approaches require comprehensive sample preparation. It works for simple analytes like pure water but becomes complicated with complex samples such as milk or wastewater.
Our innovation skips the sample preparation step altogether. It can perform measurements directly in rich samples like raw milk or wastewater. This allows us to bring analysis directly to industrial facilities. It works even for complex food processing or pharmaceutical fermentation samples, which wasn’t possible before.
How easily can companies implement your technology into their existing processes?
Dr. Tobias: We aim to make it as easy as measuring temperature. We currently offer two solutions. First is a compact, at-line device placed next to production lines for manual sampling with results in 20 minutes. Second is our fully automated device that can be integrated directly into production facilities for continuous monitoring without human intervention.
Our process typically starts with a pilot study to help new clients understand their needs and pain points. We then prove and optimize our device to fit their requirements perfectly. We take continuous feedback from existing clients to make our devices easier to use, working toward a plug-and-play solution.
What challenges did you face when developing this new technology?
Dr. Tobias: As a deep tech startup working with an entirely new type of biosensor, we’ve faced numerous challenges. On the hardware-software side, we had to develop complex optics and algorithms to read our sensors with the highest sensitivity, especially in complex samples. This required extensive prototyping in both optics and algorithm development.
The biological aspect was equally challenging since each bacteria we detected behaves differently. We needed to develop protocols to prepare our microbeads to attach to different types of bacteria. We currently have a short list of detectable bacteria, but we’re continuously expanding this capability to detect as many organisms as possible.
What are your plans for FluiDect’s future?
Dr. Tobias: We’re focused on making our devices more robust and simpler for our industrial clients. Our immediate goal is to create a plug-and-play solution within the following year. It should be as easy to use as measuring temperature.
In the long term, we envision simplifying and making the technology affordable for household use. Imagine having a device installed at your water tap that continuously monitors water quality. It lets you decide whether to drink it directly, boil it, or filter it first. While we’re starting with industrial applications due to cost considerations, our vision is to reach the consumer market with budget-friendly devices eventually.
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Shabaz Khan, Marketing Manager
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