Impact & Recognition
Awards
Start-up Awards Slovakia 2017
Winner of Slovakia’s most prestigious early-stage startup competition, boosting visibility and investor interest.
European Innovation Council (EIC) 2018
Vodafone Idea of the Year 2018
Outreach & events
Expositions
SAFTRA Photonics at Asia Water Expo in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2018
SAFTRA photonics at China International Industry Fair in Shanghai, 2018
PickMol at PITTCON 2019 in Philadelphia, 2019
Saftra Photonics is going to exhibit at the DUBAI 2020 EXPO
Events
PickMol showcased to United Nations experts, 2019
FORBES, 2019
Slovak Matchmaking Fair Bratislava, 2019
Outreach
Interview with Prof. Miškovský on the occasion of the international water day, 2023
Television interview on Slovak national TV with Prof. Miškovský, marking International Water Day.
Slovak Scientists Develop Rapid Water Quality Tester Attracting UN Interest
In a national media interview, Prof. Pavol Miškovský discusses the scientific breakthrough behind Saftra Photonics’ rapid water quality testing technology, its Startup Awards win, and how years of research led to international recognition, including interest from the United Nations.
Scientific publications
Saftra Photonics has been actively involved in research across diverse fields including photonics, biomedicine, environmental monitoring, and materials science.
Selective and ultrasensitive detection of the herbicide glyphosate by means of plasmon catalysis on Ag nanoparticles
Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy,
Volume 323, 2024, 124845, ISSN 1386-1425
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2024.124845
Analysis of Ergothioneine Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering: Detection in Mushrooms
Chemosensors
2025, 13, 213
https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors13060213
Identification of microplastics in the aquatic environment, or in the presence of algae Chlorella sp., by comparison of biophotonic methods
Polymer Testing
Volume 145, 2025, 108749, ISSN 0142-9418
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2025.108749
Effect of polymer architecture on the properties and in vitro cytotoxicity of drug formulation: A case study with mono- and di-gradient amphiphilic poly(2-Oxazoline)s
European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics
Volume 208, 2025, 114635, ISSN 0939-6411
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpb.2025.114635
Singlet oxygen lifetime changes in dying glioblastoma cells
Photochem Photobiol.
Volume 100, 2024, 159-171
https://doi.org/10.1111/php.13828
Controlled stigmergy in quasi-one-dimensional active particle systems
Physical Review E
Volume 110, 2, 024605
https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevE.110.024605
Influence of Hydrophobic Side-Chain Length in Amphiphilic Gradient Copoly(2-oxazoline)s on the Therapeutics Loading, Stability, Cellular Uptake and Pharmacokinetics of Nano-Formulation with Curcumin
Pharmaceutics
2022, 14, 2576
https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics14122576
Projects
Plant pest prevention through technology-guided monitoring and site-specific control (PURPEST)
PURPEST is an EU-funded project developing rapid, non-invasive sensor technology to detect invasive plant pests through plant-emitted VOCs, with SAFTRA photonics contributing SERS-based nanostructured sensing chips adapted from PickMol™ technology.
Development of nanosensor photonic systems for rapid virus detection using directed evolution of protein platforms: the case of SARS-CoV-2 (BioPickMol)
BioPickMol develops nanosensor photonic systems for rapid virus detection, demonstrated on SARS-CoV-2, with SAFTRA photonics delivering photonic sensing platforms based on PickMol™ technology.
Disruptive portable device for pre-screening of Persistent Organic Pollutants –POPs- in food products and water (NanoScreen)
NanoScreen is a portable solution for rapid pre-screening of persistent organic pollutants in food and water, with SAFTRA photonics responsible for the development of high-sensitivity photonic detection technology.
Validations and applications
PickMol technology applied for multiplexing chip used for direct extractionless detections of pesticide molecules in milk was validated according to environmental test methods (CEN guide 2013)
PickMol™ technology was validated as a reference screening method for multiplex, extraction-free detection of pesticide residues in milk, in compliance with CEN environmental test method guidelines and verified against HPLC-MS/MS.
PickMol technology applied for direct detection of pesticides in milk samples
PickMol™ technology was successfully validated for rapid, high-sensitivity screening of pesticide residues in milk, demonstrating direct detection of multiple pollutants within minutes in accordance with CEN validation guidelines.
PickMol technology applied for “multiplexing chip” was validated according to environmental test methods (CEN guide 2013)
PickMol™ technology was validated as a reference screening method for multiplex detection of pesticide residues in water, in compliance with CEN environmental test method guidelines and verified against LC-MS/MS.
PickMol validated according to environmental test methods (CEN guide 2013) – sensitivity validation
PickMol™ technology was validated as a high-sensitivity reference screening method for detection of persistent organic pollutants in water, in compliance with CEN environmental test method guidelines and verified against LC-MS.
SAFTRA Photonics and PickMol technology application: State-of-Art Control of Water Quality in Moldova
In partnership with UNDP and the Environmental Agency of the Republic of Moldova, PickMol™ technology was deployed for nationwide water quality monitoring, enabling real-time detection of pesticides and persistent organic pollutants in drinking water sources.
Contract Labaqua (Alicante, Spain): Water contamination tests with glyphosate and MCPA in real conditions
PickMol™ technology demonstrated trace-level detection of glyphosate and MCPA in laboratory and real water samples, with results validated against certified standard analytical methods.
