Rapid soil tests using ‘lab-on-a-chip’ and an app

The costs and time required for traditional soil sampling and chemical analysis can be significant. Many farmers would conduct more soil testing if they had rapid, cheap and reliable in-field soil tests to support their decision making.

Building on the Soil CRC’s ‘Affordable rapid field-based tests’ project (2.2.004), this project ran from April 2024 to September 2025 and developed a ‘lab-on-a-chip’ prototype for rapid nitrate detection in soil using smartphone imaging.

The project team designed and optimised microfluidic chips through 3D printing, improved reagent immobilisation, and developed algorithms for colorimetric analysis.

The research also included cost modelling and commercialisation planning, confirming feasibility for large-scale adoption. A pathway to injection moulding was designed to enable scalability and mass production of the device.

Further investment is being made by Queensland’s Department of Primary Industries to develop this technology for plant-based assessment of nutrients in sugarcane. Managed by Sugar Research Australia, the new project will also transition the device from 3D printing to injection moulding. Read our project announcement to learn more.