How Photonic Integrated Circuits Are Transforming Biosensing: Delta Life Science Story
- On 20 March, 2026
Studying biomolecular interactions is at the heart of drug discovery and life-science research, but doing it well has long come with significant challenges. Traditional methods often rely on addition of fluorescent or other types of tag molecules to detect binding events: this adds cost and time to the process, and the labelling step itself can interfere with the very interactions being measured. Label-free approaches offer a promising alternative, providing direct, real-time information on binding without the need for intermediaries yet achieving the sensitivity and throughput required for commercial applications has remained a technical hurdle for much of the field.
Delta Life Science, headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands, is focused on solving exactly this problem.
A Decade of Research, Distilled Into a Platform
Delta Life Science is a pioneer in next-generation, label-free biosensing. Drawing on nearly a decade of research, the company has built a versatile technology platform that serves both basic life-science research and drug discovery. Their focus: making high-quality, high-plex analysis — including binding kinetics, antibody screening, and concentration measurements — affordable and accessible for technical teams worldwide.
At the core of their innovation is a patented technology based on Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs). These photonic chips contain waveguides that transport laser light across the chip to a large number of integrated sensors. When biomolecules bind to the sensor surface, they cause a detectable local change in refractive index. By functionalising each sensing region with a specific capture molecule, such as an antibody, the chip becomes a highly sensitive and selective biosensor. Because each sensor can be functionalised differently, many biomolecular interactions or protein concentrations can be analysed simultaneously, even in small and complex samples.
The inQuiQ: Making High-Plex Analysis Accessible
This sensing approach is realised in Delta Life Science’s flagship device, the inQuiQ — a compact instrument that enables real-time, label-free analysis of biomolecular interactions, even in complex matrices like serum, plasma, or cell culture supernatant.
By integrating numerous small sensors onto a single reusable chip, the inQuiQ makes high-quality kinetic screening and antibody lead candidate identification faster, more cost-effective, and more accessible than traditional approaches.
From Prototype to Scalable Manufacturing
Building a cutting-edge sensing device is one challenge. Scaling it to meet the demanding requirements of commercial life-science products is quite another. For this, Delta Life Science partnered with LIGENTEC, whose technology and manufacturing processes underpin the Photonic Integrated Circuits used in their instruments.
LIGENTEC supported Delta Life Science from the earliest design and prototyping stages all the way through to volume manufacturing — maintaining a consistent focus on the high performance and quality standards required for life-science tools, within a scalable industrial environment.
Bart de Boer, CTO at Delta Life Science, reflects on the partnership:
Performance That Exceeds Expectations
Gyllion Loozen, PIC Engineer at Delta Life Science, notes:
Stability and reproducibility are non-negotiable in life-science instrumentation, and achieving them consistently across manufacturing volumes is a significant milestone for any company scaling a novel photonic technology.
The inQuiQ successfully reached the market in 2024, and is now available to research and drug discovery teams worldwide looking to push the boundaries of biomolecular analysis. With the platform proven at commercial scale, Delta Life Science is already looking ahead — developing the next generation of biosensor technology with even greater sensitivity and throughput. To learn more about Delta Life Science and the inQuiQ platform, visit deltalifescience.com.
