PFI-BIC: Raman Spectroscopic Platform for Analysis of Volatile Organic Compound Biomarkers

凯克研究生院(KGI)的这一创新伙伴关系项目旨在为紧凑、经济高效和用户友好的平台技术开发关键技术创新，该平台技术可以在护理点或使用点实现传染病诊断或工业过程监控。该平台将使用拉曼光谱来分析气相或水溶液中的有机化合物。本项目将解决的VOC检测的一个关键技术挑战涉及识别和区分复杂混合物中低浓度的VOC特征。在现场或护理地点使用的商业上可行的平台也必须高度坚固、易于使用和具有成本效益。该项目采用了与目前市场上销售的系统完全不同的方法。该平台包括一种一次性的VOC样本采集/预浓缩设备，其性能优于更复杂的现有设备，成本更低。为了实现灵敏的VOC检测，该平台使用了创新的拉曼探头，该探头比传统的拉曼探头更灵敏，但绕过了以独特的方式在拉曼传感器表面浓缩和检测VOC所遇到的重复性问题，这也增加了选择性。该团队将改进该传感器的初步变体，并将进行旨在了解关键系统参数的初步实验，同时开发灵敏度更高的第二代传感器探头，该探头体积小、坚固，能够与便携式拉曼光谱仪接口。探头将进一步用于测量液体中的化合物，特别是在细胞培养介质等复杂的水溶液中。更广泛的影响：这项研究的更广泛的影响包括对呼吸机相关性肺炎、伤口感染和活动性结核病的快速、接近患者和非侵入性诊断，这些都可以使美国和全球的患者受益。生物反应器过程监控确保了生物药品的可靠供应。推动能够满足这些应用的新型平台技术的开发和商业化，对直接参与这一努力的小企业合作伙伴以及医疗器械和生物技术行业未来的潜在商业合作伙伴都有经济利益，从而提高美国的竞争力。项目开始时的合作伙伴是主要的学术机构：凯克研究生院(加利福尼亚州克莱蒙特)，以及一个学术合作伙伴，波莫纳学院化学系(加利福尼亚州克莱蒙特)。该项目涉及三家小企业作为核心知识增强合作伙伴：坦纳研究公司(位于加利福尼亚州蒙罗维亚)、克莱蒙特生物解决方案公司(位于加利福尼亚州Upland)和Lambda解决方案公司(位于马萨诸塞州沃尔瑟姆)。其他活跃在特定目标应用领域的合作伙伴将参与这一努力，包括KCI(德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥)等大公司，利用KGI与生物技术和医疗器械行业的强大联系。

This Partnerships for Innovation project from the Keck Graduate Institute(KGI) seeks to develop the key technical innovations for a compact, cost-effective, and user-friendly platform technology that can enable infectious disease diagnosis or industrial process monitoring at the point-of-care or point-of-use. The platform will use Raman spectroscopy to analyze organic compounds in the gas phase or in aqueous solution. A key technical challenge for VOC detection, which this project will address, relates to identifying and distinguishing VOC signatures at low concentrations in complex mixtures. Commercially viable platforms for use in the field or at the point-of-care also must be highly robust, easy-to-use, and cost-effective. This project employs a fundamentally different approach than currently marketed systems. The platform involves a disposable, VOC sample collection/pre-concentration device, which out-performs more elaborate existing devices at lower cost. To enable sensitive VOC detection, the platform uses an innovative Raman probe, which is more sensitive than conventional Raman probes, but circumvents the reproducibility problems encountered with Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy VOCs enriched and detected at the Raman sensor surface in a unique manner which also increases selectivity. The team will refine a preliminary variant of this sensor and will perform initial experiments aimed at understanding key system parameters, while simultaneously developing a second generation sensor probe with increased sensitivity, that is small, robust, and capable of being interfaced with a portable Raman spectrometer.The probe will further be adapted for measuring compounds in the liquid phase, specifically in complex aqueous solutions such as cell culture media. Broader Impacts: The broader impacts of this research include rapid, near patient, and non-invasive diagnosis of ventilator associated pneumonia, wound infections, and active tuberculosis that can benefit patients in the U.S. and globally. Bioreactor process monitoring ensures a reliable supply of biopharmaceuticals. Enabling the development and commercialization of a novel platform technology that can address these applications has economic benefits for the small business partners directly involved in this effort, and for potential future business partners in the medical device and biotech industry, thereby enhancing U.S. competitiveness. Partners at the inception of the project are the lead academic institution: Keck Graduate Institute (Claremont, CA), and an academic partner, the chemistry department at Pomona College (Claremont, CA). The project involves three small businesses as core Knowledge-Enhancement Partners: Tanner Research, Inc. (Monrovia, CA), Claremont BioSolutions (Upland, CA), and Lambda Solutions Inc (Waltham, MA). Other partners active in the specific targeted applications areas will be involved in the effort, including large companies such as KCI (San Antonio, Texas), leveraging KGI's strong connections with the biotech and medical device industry.