2.1. Equipment description

All tests were performed using a custom portable hardware device (Bio Electric Diagnostics – B.EL.D) developed by EMBIO DIAGNOSTICS (EMBIO DIAGNOSTICS Ltd, Cyprus). The working principle of the device is an open circuit potential (OCP). EMBIO Biosensor Tool is based on a proven, robust cell-based biosensor technology known as the Bioelectric Recognition Assay (BERA). The system uses high-precision Analog-to-digital (A/D) converters to measure electrical signals from cells used as bio-identification elements, enabling high-performance control, parallel measurements, wireless transmissions and high-speed testing. The device is capable of measuring real-time changes in the electrical properties of cells (up to eight simultaneous measurements) from eight carbon-screen printed electrodes (working electrode: carbon, reference: Ag / AgCl) to a disposable sensor strip (iMiCROQ SL, Tarragona, Spain). In addition, the system can be connected via Bluetooth 4.0 to a smartphone, thus allowing the end user to be informed immediately of any analysis result (^{Apostolou et al., 2020}). The device is shown in Fig. 1 .

Detection Device and Mobile application. An eight-channel carbon screen printed electrode connected on the potentiometer device (A). The device is connected to a smartphone for recording of the measurements immediately after the sample application and the result appears on the smartphone screen (B).