September 23, 2023, Shanghai – Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) made a stellar appearance at the 23rd China International Industry Fair (CIIF) held from September 19-23, showcasing 25 significant innovative achievements across a plethora of domains, including advanced manufacturing, AI, new materials, new energy, and medical equipment, presented uniquely in a standalone exhibition hall.

Prominently, the "New Encoding Liquid Phase Chip Multi-Indicator Detection Technology and Flow Dot Matrix Analysis System" developed by the team of Professor Gu Hongchen and Researcher Xu Hong, was honored with the Grand Prize in the Universities Exhibition Zone at CIIF. This recognition underscores a monumental breakthrough, not only for SJTU but also for the broader scientific community, especially in an era where diagnostic capabilities are pivotal.

Liquid phase chips, which can simultaneously be applied for nucleic acid testing and immunological analysis, present a high-throughput and highly sensitive platform technology, allowing the unified analysis of up to several tens of target substances in single-tube samples, thereby significantly enhancing detection efficiency and propelling a revolutionary push in clinical laboratory testing. This technology, which has been monopolized by foreign entities for years due to its high technical barriers and manufacturing challenges, has been described as a "neck-carding" technology in the field of in vitro diagnostics.

After nearly a decade of research, funded by the National Natural Science Foundation and major scientific and technological projects in Zhejiang Province, Professor Gu and Researcher Xu's team, in collaboration with Hangzhou Zhonghanshengtai Biotechnology Co., Ltd., successfully developed an entire chain of technologies. They successfully established a liquid phase chip technology platform with complete independent intellectual property rights, breaking the international monopoly. A series of diagnostic reagent boxes for molecular/immunological single-tube multi-indicator joint detection have been successfully developed, obtaining several medical device registration certificates, and a series of multi-indicator joint detection products are in the application or approval process, making significant contributions to enhancing the international competitiveness of China's in vitro diagnostic products.

This award-winning project has innovatively proposed a "new strategy of optically coded microspheres based on host-guest structure" domestically and abroad, which can achieve accurate coding of no less than 100 weights. Through the model of integration of industry, education, and research, SJTU, in conjunction with Zhonghanshengtai Biotechnology Co., Ltd., has co-developed the new encoding liquid phase chip multi-indicator detection technology and flow fluorescence analysis system, applying for a total of 24 patents of various types, 18 of which have been authorized, successfully building a core patent group.

Throughout the years of tackling key technological problems, the large research team led by Professor Gu Hongchen and Researcher Xu Hong has adhered to SJTU’s innovative spirit of daring to be the first and a solid research style, truly practicing the "clinical problem proposal—original innovative technology research—original technology transformation and industrialization—application to clinical" production, education, research, and medical model. This has powerfully facilitated a leapfrog development and enhancement of autonomous innovation capabilities in China's in vitro diagnostic industry's high-end technology nationalization.

This success at CIIF, which witnessed participation from 87 universities with a record-breaking 815 projects, not only highlights the prowess and potential embedded in SJTU’s research efforts but also reflects the university’s unwavering commitment to pioneering technological advancements, firmly positioning itself as a beacon of innovation and research excellence in China and beyond.