• Archer enters agreement with Paragraf to advance its Biochip for at-home testing of chronic kidney disease
• 6-month project to progress technical development of Archer's blood potassium sensor
• Paragraf to work on sensing protocols, quality checks, graphene field effect transistors, and sensor functionalisation

Archer Materials Limited (ASX: AXE) has signed an agreement with UK graphene-based electronics company Paragraf Limited to advance the development of Archer's Biochip potassium ion sensor for testing of chronic kidney disease. The six-month project will involve Paragraf working with Archer on the development of sensing protocols, quality checks, fabrication of graphene field effect transistors (gFETs), and proprietary methods of sensor functionalisation to improve blood potassium sensing accuracy. The work will also focus on chip redesign towards a final product, as well as the lifetime, stability, and robustness of the sensor. The partnership is expected to result in several pieces of intellectual property that will enable Archer's sensing product. Paragraf is a pioneer in the commercialisation of mass-produced graphene-based electronic devices, and the collaboration will leverage the expertise of both teams in semiconductor manufacturing, biological sensing, chemistry, and the medical diagnostics industry. The development and learning on the sensing chip will feed directly into the ongoing work around integration with other sensing components as well as the product's cartridge design.

The partnership with Paragraf will accelerate the technical progress towards meeting the blood potassium sensing target product profile using a graphene field effect transistor. The work is expected to result in enhanced sensor accuracy, improved foundry fabrication processes, and better device qualification procedures, as well as sensor stability, lifetime, and robustness - all key metrics for the target product profile.