SBIR Phase I: Nanobiosensor for Cancer Marker Detection

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This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to develop a nanobiosensor for optically detecting, discriminating, and quantifying important bio-molecular species. This project focuses on detection of ovarian cancer markers. The sensor technology is based on manufacturing arrays of silver nanowires on optical substrates and then bio-chemically functionalizing the nanowires to bind specific biological analytes. The presence of the targeted analyte is determined using the ultra-sensitive optical-probing technique, Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS). This project will seek to utilize novel manufacturing techniques to build a versatile bio-sensing platform that can be readily altered to sense a wide range of important biological species. The Phase I project will engineer the nanobiosensor to detect the presence of the cancer marker CA125. The detection and diagnosis of disease is one of the major potential applications of nanotechnology, which allows devices to be manufactured on the same size scale as the biological species and chemicals they seek to detect. Phase II work will expand the range of cancer marker detection and incorporate the sensing platform into a portable, easy to use medical diagnostic tool. This innovative technology will find applications in medical testing, environmental monitoring, and chemical and biological weapons detection.