8
Nanowire
Optical Assay Probe—Illuminex
Corporation, 627 Conestoga Boulevard, Lancaster, PA
17602; 717-871-8971
Dr.
Youssef M. Habib, Principal Investigator, joe.habib@illuminex.biz
Dr.
Youssef M. Habib, Business Official, joe.habib@illuminex.biz
DOE
Grant No. DE-FG02-05ER84282
Amount:
$750,000
More
sensitive detection methods leading to early diagnosis could significantly
impact the treatment of cancer and other diseases and dramatically increase
survival rates. However, current
methods used to detect disease indicators do not have the needed sensitivity and
often are effective only once the indicator concentration has reached a critical
level. Nanotechnology-enabled
probes, which can interact with and sense biological compounds on the molecular
level, hold great promise for point-of-care diagnosis of disease. This
project will develop a nanowire optical probe that uses surface enhanced Raman
scattering (SERS) as a method for molecular identification. The
probe will be incorporated into a portable, rapid, and highly sensitive assay
system that will detect multiple biomedical substances in patients. In
Phase I, a nanowire optical probing platform was successfully engineered. Antibodies
for the ovarian cancer marker CA 125 were used to characterize the sensor
platform as to its optical, chemical, and biological properties. Phase
II will expand the development of the nanowire optical assay probe, integrate
the probe with diagnostic control systems, and perform clinical laboratory tests
to compare the nanowire assay performance with standard clinical laboratory
assays. Finally, a prototype
diagnostic instrument will be produced.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits
as described by the awardee: The nanowire assay probe should be able to identify
virtually any antibody, offering the potential to replace hundreds of assays in
clinical and research laboratories with a portable instrument. In
addition, the probe could have a significant impact on world health because the
system could be used with very little infrastructure requirements. Lastly,
these probes could be configured to detect chemical and biological compounds in
the environment, lending them valuable in the detection of chemical and
biological weapons for homeland security.