A portable somatic cell counter based on a multi-functional counting chamber and a miniaturized fluorescence...

Area of Science:

• Dairy Science
• Biotechnology
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Somatic cell count (SCC) is crucial for monitoring mastitis and milk quality in the dairy industry.
• Current SCC methods often require complex off-chip sample preparation, limiting their use in resource-limited farm settings.
• Effective mastitis management relies on accessible and accurate milk quality assessment tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an integrated, on-chip platform for automatic somatic cell counting in milk.
• To enable simple, rapid, and accurate enumeration of somatic cells without off-chip procedures.
• To provide a hand-held device for on-farm milk quality assessment and mastitis control.

Main Methods:

• Development of an integrated cell counting platform with automatic sample delivery and on-chip sample preparation.
• Utilisation of a miniaturized, hand-held fluorescence device for identifying fluorescently-labelled somatic cells.
• Demonstration of the platform's capability for somatic cell enumeration in milk samples.

Main Results:

• The platform successfully performs automatic sample delivery and on-chip preparation, eliminating off-chip steps.
• The hand-held fluorescence device allows for rapid and accurate identification and counting of somatic cells.
• The system enables non-experts to perform somatic cell counts without additional instrumentation.

Conclusions:

• The integrated platform offers a simple, rapid, and accurate solution for somatic cell counting in milk.
• This technology facilitates everyday milk quality tracking and mastitis occurrence control, particularly in farm environments.
• The developed system is a promising tool for improving dairy herd health management and milk production.