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ViriChip™ Platform Applications

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Problem

While the last SARS outbreak did cost the global economy $11 BN, a potential Avian Flu pandemia can cost $800 BN and millions of lives. The 4.5 million US cases of Hepatitis C costs the US healthcare $9 BN annually. There are 40 million worldwide cases of HIV and it continues to spread, partially due to lack of reliable detection.

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Solution

BioForce Nanosciences developed a platform for fast, sensitive and non-destructive virus detection. The platform consists of a silicon chip functionalized with an ultramicro array of antibodies using the Nano eNablerTM, and a detection system based on Atomic Force Microscopy.

Technology

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The 4x4mm ViriChipTM is functionalized with an ultramicro array of antibodies using BioForce’s Nano eNablerTM
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The ViriChipTM captures intact viruses. The specificity of the captured particles is determined by the specificity of the antibodies.
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After less than two hours of incubation, virus particles are directly detected using an Atomic Force Microscopy-based reader. The detection is non-destructive and very sensitive, and can also provide size and shape information about the captured particles.

Advantages

Direct Detection

  • Detects actual viruses, not their byproducts
  • Minimizes false positives

Fast

  • Incubation and detection take 30 minutes to 2 hours

Non-destructive

  • Leaves viruses bioactive
  • Increases subsequent PCR sensitivity 10,000-fold

Sensitive

  • Detects viruses even from minute concentrations

Multiplexing

  • Multiple virus detection in a single test or increased speed for single type deposition

Label-free

  • Does not require labels

No sample preparation

  • Detects viruses directly from blood, serum, water and other raw samples

Portable

  • Portable AFMs are already available and BioForce is working on a portable ViriChipTM Reader

References

Lynch, M.; Mosher, C.; Huff, J.; Nettikadan, S.; Johnson, J. and E. Henderson: Functional protein nanoarrays for biomarker profiling. Proteomics 4: 1695-1702, 2004.
Nettikadan, S.; Johnson, J.; Vengasandra, S.G.; Muys, J. and E. Henderson: ViriChip: a solid phase assay for detection and identification of viruses by atomic force microscopy. Nanotechnology 15: 383-389, 2004.

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