Table 1.

Comparative chart of the existing methods for the detection of mastitis

Device and	Basic principle	Somatic cell count	Cost	Advantages	Disadvantages
DeLaval-TM41,74,75	A digital camera takes a pic of the somatic cells' nuclei, which are stained with DNA- DNA-specific fluorescent reagent & counts the cells	< 200 × 103 cell/mL	Device cost: $4100 Test cost: $2.1 /sample.	Rapid & Automated	Requires trained personnel, expensive, and not-portable
Fossomati-TM41,68	DNA-specific counter based on the principle of optical fluorescence	50 × 103 cells/mL	Device cost: Test cost: $0.6/sample	Rapid & Automated	Requires special equipment, trained personnel, expensive
LactoscanSCC76	low magnification microscope with fast autofocus and cell counting software	100 × 103 cells/mL	Device cost: $ 3500 Test cost: $0.5/sample	Automate, Differential cell count	Not portable, required additional instruments
MilkChecker-TM77,78	Measurement of the electrical conductivity of the milk	>200 × 103 cells/mL	Devise cost: $1500	Portable, Rapid	Low accuracy, Other factors can also cause an increase in conductivity
Milk Amyloid A79,80	Milk amyloid concentration increases due to infection, which can be a good indicator for udder health diagnosis	>150 × 103 cells/mL (0.93 ng/mL)	Kit cost: $6.2/sample	Rapid, Sensitive	The detection window is very short. Required trained person is required to perform the test
QuantM (This Study) (Supplementary Table 2)	Cell-IONP aggregates are formed proportion to the SCC	0.05 million cells/mL	Device cost: ~$180 Test cost < $0.10per sample	Rapid, Portable, User-friendly and Sensitive	Simultaneous processing of multiple samples is not possible.