Technology for the control and monitoring of vital parameters outside the testing laboratory
Lumina NanoBiotech focuses on point-of-care diagnostics (POC diagnostics) and presents a novel, portable device for the remote, real-time monitoring of vital clinical biomarkers. The innovative technology combines superior sensitivity, specificity and speed in bioparameter testing with the advantage of small and portable instrumentation integrated into a smartphone or similar device that can virtually connect to any linked device, thus advancing state-of-the-art in point-of-care tests (POCT).
Multiple bioparameters of a patient can be remotely monitored without the need for expert medical staff virtually from anywhere in a highly sensitive, easy to use, and cost effective manner.
Lumina NanoBiotech’s technology was successfully used onboard the International Space Station (ISS) by Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli during the recent ASI-NASA VITA mission. In this context, the device was proven to be suitable for working even in very extreme conditions such as microgravity.
Lumina NanoBiotech is an academic spinoff focusing on innovating and advancing the state-of-the-art in POC diagnostics, developing biotech products capable of performing tests outside the laboratory for diagnostic use and for the monitoring of vital sign and other bioparameters, including clinical and oncological biomarkers in biological samples such as blood, urine, saliva and sweat.
Lumina NanoBiotech’s cutting edge point-of-need device, portable and highly technological, is capable of performing chemical and biological analyses using bio-chemiluminescence and color-based reflectometry methods.
Lumina NanoBiotech’s proprietary device is used in conjunction with smartphones through integrated technologies such as camera, light source, WiFi connectivity, geo-tagging and cloud computing.
About us
The innovation

Lumina NanoBiotech develops high-tech nanobiosensors optimized to perform tests and analyses outside of laboratories for diagnostic and theragnostic use for the control and monitoring of vital biomarkers, with additional applications in the environmental and agrofood sectors.
The luminescence-based technology can be coupled easily with any smartphone through integrated technologies using the BI-CMOS of its photocamera, light source, Lithium battery, solar power, WiFi connectivity, geo-tagging and cloud computing. The device has been produced by 3D printing technology and can be integrated with any type of smartphone.
The miniaturization of the reagent delivery system and capillary forces have allowed for a simple and compact device. The use of nanotechnology-based reagents, such as gold-labeled antibody, allows for accuracy and the reproducibility.
The biosensors can be integrated into any Smartphone. Once the sample is loaded, the test is performed and the results measured with a chemiluminescent reader. The innovative immunological method of Lumina NanoBiotech technology guarantees superior specificity and accuracy, all measured within just three minutes.
The product
The Lumina biosensor is sophisticated yet user-friendly, and extremely small and handy. Besides countless other applications, it can be used to make rapid clinical decisions in emergency scenarios, for the daily screening of bio-parameters that need to be monitored in real-time, and as a tool for routine medical diagnostics. The device is in the form of a disposable stick that features an external cartridge containing the reagent materials, The organic specimen to be analyzed is loaded onto the cartridge and is then rapidly assayed via a chemiluminescence reaction.
The stick will display a specific color depending on the substance that is tested. The chemiluminescence reaction is then processed by measurement of the light through the camera of the smartphone, which is then converted into data that is transmitted over a specially designed app to be easily viewed.
The exclusivity of the product lies, therefore, in the innovative methods used to rapidly carry out analyses that could up until now be performed only in laboratories, from virtually anywhere, and then to immediately transmit and make availble patient data.
Owing to their small size and ability to be integrated with smartphones, Lumina NanoBiotech‘s biosensors can be used in a wide range of setting and situations, including at home, at an outpatient level, in first aid departments, in containment departments for infectious diseases, in ambulances, in military centers, on cruise ships or at sites of accidents.
Lumina NanoBiotech biosensors can also be used directly by the patient.
TARGET MARKET: Lumina NanoBiotech targets the following markets:
- The I.V.D. market: this market shows a TAM of 53b USD and projects a CAGR of 6.1% on average until 2023
Clinical Need

- Lumina NanoBiotech develops point-of-care diagnostic devices that rapidly and accurately perform tests outside the laboratory for monitoring vital sign and other bioparameters.
- Lumina NanoBiotech’s biosensor device is an instrument capable of performing on-site diagnostic tests, even when access to a laboratory is not possible. The product has been adapted to measure levels of the stress hormone cortisol, demonstrating the potential and valuable benefits of this technology. The use of the device, in fact, is not limited only to experts in the field, but can also be used by unqualified personnel and patients themselves, turning over accurate and reliable quantitative data in real-time, even in extreme conditions (such as the microgravity).