IDBR: Genemeter: A Portable DNA Identification Device

该奖项是对“基因测定仪”的开发，这是一种便携式或台式设备，用于快速检测和量化低浓度的特定DNA靶标阵列。该仪器将使用电荷微扰检测(CPD)。CPD包括带有运算放大器电路的电子检测，这有助于设备的小型化。其目标是开发一种用户友好的设备，也可以被非专家使用，例如，在高中教育活动中。通过集成可更换的6x6电极阵列传感器和自动化的计算机控制试剂分配系统，将开发出具有6x6阵列的台式版本的设备。该系统与一台包含用于信号数据采集、分析和用户界面的适当硬件和软件的台式PC相结合，将为以后开发更便携的系统奠定基础。集成到建议的多电极系统中的无标记电子检测方法将提供对样本中的基因突变和DNA序列的快速和灵敏的检测。预计CPD检测系统在速度、灵敏度和成本方面都优于同类检测系统。这将是一种用于许多分子研究应用的强大而有效的生物传感器，并将构成基于DNA的生物传感器技术的重大突破。Genemeter有可能对学术研究和医疗实践中迅速增长的分子诊断领域产生深远影响。在开发Genemeter的同时，还将以几种方式进行推广。设备原型将在该大学和当地社区学院的研究生和本科生分子生物学课程中进行测试。该仪器的广泛展示将让更多的学生有机会了解分子生物学，以及多个研究领域的整合如何产生令人兴奋的新技术。此外，基因组学和蛋白质组学的一些发现将通过将这种低成本的基因仪整合到实验室课程中向高中生生动地展示，培养他们的科学兴趣，并帮助确保国家科学事业所需的人力资源管道的活力。

This award is for the development of a "Genemeter," a portable or desktop device for rapidly detecting and quantifying arrays of specific DNA targets at low concentrations. This instrument will use Charge-Perturbation Detection (CPD). CPD involves electronic detection with operational amplifiers circuitry, which lends itself to miniaturization of the device. The goal is to develop a user-friendly device that can also be used by non-experts, for example, in high school educational activities. A desktop version of the device with a 6x6 array will be developed by integrating a replaceable 6x6 electrode array sensor and an automated, computer-controlled reagent dispensing system. Combined with a desktop PC containing the appropriate hardware and software for signal data acquisition, analysis and user interface, this system will lay the groundwork for a more portable system developed at a later stage. The label-free electronic detection method integrated into the proposed multiple-electrode system will provide rapid and sensitive detection of genetic mutations and identification of DNA sequences in a sample. The CPD detection system is predicted to be superior to comparable detection systems in terms of speed, sensitivity, and cost. This will be a robust and effective biosensor for many molecular research applications and will constitute a major breakthrough in DNA-based biosensor technology. The Genemeter has the potential to profoundly influence the rapidly growing field of molecular diagnostics in both academic research and healthcare practice. Development of the Genemeter will be coupled with outreach in several ways. Device prototypes will be tested in graduate and undergraduate molecular biology courses at the university and at local Community Colleges. This wider exposure of the instrument will give more students an opportunity to learn about molecular biology and how the integration of multiple research fields can produce exciting new technologies. In addition, some of the discoveries in genomics and proteomics will be vividly displayed to high school students through the integration of this low-cost Genemeter into laboratory curricula, cultivating their scientific interests and helping to ensure the vitality of the people-power pipelines needed for the nation's scientific enterprise.