Image created by Dr. Michael J. Miller
A South Korean research team has developed a technology that can rapidly and accurately measure markers for inflammation and infection on-site using only a smartphone and a portable thermal camera. The test's sensitivity is seven times higher than that of conventional rapid tests.
The Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI) announced on the 23rd that a team led by Principal Researcher Han Do-kyung of the Materials Research Division, in collaboration with Professor Sung Gee-hoon's team from Hanyang University's Department of Bionano Engineering, has developed a rapid test technology using a photothermal detection material based on the 2D nanomaterial Molybdenum Diselenide (MoSe2). The research findings were published in the 'Journal of Nanobiotechnology' on January 16 (local time).
The research team synthesized 'GA-MoSe2 nanosheets' by stably exfoliating MoSe2 using a natural surfactant, glycyrrhizic acid (GA), and utilized it as a material to generate diagnostic signals. The GA-MoSe2 nanosheets exhibit a high photothermal conversion efficiency of 64.6%—converting light into heat upon near-infrared irradiation—and possess excellent stability.
By connecting a compact thermal camera to a smartphone's USB-C port and capturing an image of a kit containing the GA-MoSe2 nanosheets, the temperature of the nanosheets changes according to the reaction level between the test subject's blood and the kit. This allows for quantification through temperature, unlike color changes which can have ambiguous criteria.
When performance was verified using C-reactive protein (CRP), a representative marker for inflammatory diseases, the sensitivity was found to be approximately 7 times higher than that of existing rapid diagnostic kits based on gold nanoparticles. CRP is a substance that increases early in the body's response to acute inflammation. Experiments based on human serum also demonstrated an accuracy of 90-105%, confirming its potential for clinical application.
Principal Researcher Han explained, "Precise diagnosis is possible without complex equipment, using only a smartphone and a portable thermal camera," adding, "This will have a significant impact on the point-of-care diagnosis of infectious and inflammatory diseases." He further projected, "Expansion into multiplex diagnostics, for analyzing multiple targets simultaneously, and into mobile healthcare platforms will also be possible."
Reference
Kim, D.H., Ha, C.H., Lee, H.B. et al. High-performance photothermal GA-MoSe2 nanosheet for rapid and sensitive point-of-care detection of C-reactive protein. J Nanobiotechnol 24, 149 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-025-04018-1
Abstract
In the aftermath of the global COVID-19 pandemic, there is a critical need to develop rapid and sensitive diagnostic devices for point-of-care testing (POCT). Despite the numerous benefits of paper-based colorimetric lateral flow immunoassays (LFAs) in rapid onsite diagnosis, their sensitivity and quantitative analysis capability are limited. To overcome the limitations of the current assays, we developed a new rapid diagnostic method that utilizes glycyrrhizic acid-molybdenum diselenide (GA-MoSe2), a two-dimensional photothermal nanomaterial, for the sensitive detection of C-reactive protein (CRP). GA-MoSe2 was synthesized via a facile liquid exfoliation method using glycyrrhizic acid as a natural surfactant in distilled water. The GA-MoSe2 nanosheet presented a notable photothermal effect, exhibiting an excellent photothermal conversion efficiency of 64.6% and high photothermal stability, and was successfully used as a photothermal sensing probe in an LFA. The GA-MoSe2-based photothermal LFA demonstrated a high analytical performance in CRP detection in the concentration range of 5 to 1000 ng mL− 1, exhibiting a limit of detection of 0.93 ng mL− 1 and up to 7-fold signal enhancement relative to those of traditional gold nanoparticle-based colorimetric LFAs. Moreover, the developed sensor showed high selectivity to CRP even in the presence of interfering substances in serum, excellent reproducibility, and long-term stability over 3 weeks of storage. The GA-MoSe2-based biosensor successfully detected CRP in human serum samples, showing recoveries ranging from 90 to 105% and demonstrating significant capability and feasibility for point-of-care testing.