York-based medical testing company Abingdon Health has launched a seaweed-based alternative for the housing of its lateral flow tests.
The company has agreed an exclusive supply with Wolverhampton based Symbio Technologies Ltd for the supply of compostable bio-based material derived from red-seaweed which can be used to produce lateral flow cassettes via standard injection moulding techniques.
This option will provide an alternative to the standard plastic houses that are currently used and create opportunity for Abingdon customers to significantly reduce their plastic waste.
Abingdon Healthcare added it has developed prototype cassettes in both standard format and in mid-stream urine sample format as is used for pregnancy and fertility testing.
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Dr Chris Hand, Executive Chairman of Abingdon Health, said: “LFTs are crucial for rapid diagnostic testing with over 2 billion used annually across the globe. However, this generates greater than 20,000 tonnes of plastic waste.
“By offering a plastic free rigid cassette in a range of formats, Abingdon Health aims to help our CDMO customers reduce plastic waste without compromising on the functionality of the tests.
“The use of SymbioTex's material, as well as harnessing the power of renewable natural resources, gives us the practical benefit of using traditional plastic injection moulding machinery thereby easing the development pathway".
Olivia Simpson, Managing Director of SymbioTex, added: "SymbioTex is delighted to have agreed the exclusive supply of our seaweed-based home compostable biomaterial to Abingdon Health.
“It is a truly home compostable, sustainable material that can be used to revolutionise the production of packaging and medical devices currently made from single-use plastic."
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