A digital microfluidic platform to automate the synthesis of aptamer-based biosensors

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In the FRQNT grant, the team of Shih and Wilds proposed to construct a new microfluidic platform that will drive down the costs of genome engineering which will be capable of accelerating the pace of genome synthesis. Our goal in the FRQNT grant is to use this platform to automate the genetic engineering process such that new cells can be quickly engineered for a variety of synthetic biology applications. Here in this proposal, we are expanding the application space and using our platform to synthesize COVID-19 aptamer-based biosensors. Due to their relatively simplistic configuration, aptamers are stable and highly sensitive for the detection of numerous applications (e.g., diseases and environmental monitoring). Typically aptamers are small, single-stranded oligonucelotides that are usually synthetically designed and manufactured. The main challenge is that the current technique to synthesize these aptamers result in very low yield, especially aptamers that are longer in length. Hence, we are joining forces with Dr. Maria DeRosa (Carleton University) to use our automated platform for the synthesis of aptamer-based biosensors. Given the pandemic, our goal is to use our automated platform to quickly synthesize aptamer-based biosensors for COVID-19. We believe with our system, we will be able to find aptamers that can rapidly detect COVID-19 with results in less than an hour at the location it was given. By improving on these efforts, we can make testing easier and more powerful with the hope of ending 'stay-at-home' orders.