I-Corps: A chip-based nano-opto-fluidic biosensor

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是促进用于分散实验室测试的多功能护理点(POC)生物传感器的开发，并调查早期检测疾病蛋白质生物标记物的市场潜力。重点领域是心血管疾病、母乳银行和辅助生活设施。有必要通过监测心脏生物标志物来早期诊断心力衰竭，特别是心肌梗死。这不仅是为了患者的生存，也是为了降低治疗成本。这种生物传感器技术有可能成为市场上第一个便携式、快速和经济高效的心血管疾病诊断产品。该项目可能会加速POC诊断研究和个性化医疗，包括早期发现和筛查、临床诊断、治疗和预防控制。因此，它将允许更有效地部署治疗方法。开发的产品有望获得更广泛的商业应用，包括但不限于临床前和临床研究人员、生命科学研究、医院和医疗设施、诊断和患者监测、家庭和远程使用，以及制药和生物技术行业的药物发现。这个i-Corps项目将探索创新生物传感器的市场潜力。最终产品将是一种基于芯片实验室的POC技术，用于复杂的生物介质，如全血，这通常需要样本预处理和/或分离大血细胞。POC设备将向检测区域独家提供蛋白质生物标志物(例如肌钙蛋白)，以便从一滴全血中进行高度灵敏和可靠的检测。这项创新的独特之处在于纳米结构被制造成金属薄膜，并与微流体集成在一起，用于直接光学测量。芯片上/在线样品制备和流体处理与简单、无标签的光学检测系统相结合，实现了完整的芯片上实验室系统。与用于复杂样品的传统生物标记物检测方法相比，该系统可提供几个优点。这些优点包括高通量、高灵敏度、消除大血细胞的干扰、降低成本、易于操作和简化样品前处理。I-Corps项目试图探索并行、多个生物标记物分析的创新应用，并确定将生物传感器转变为可行产品的准备情况。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to facilitate the development of a versatile point-of-care (POC) biosensor for decentralized laboratory testing, and to investigate the market potential for early detection of protein biomarkers for diseases. The focus areas are in cardiovascular disease, breast milk banks, and assisted living facilities. There is a need for early diagnosis of heart failure, especially myocardial infarction, by monitoring cardiac biomarkers. This is not only for the patient's survival, but also reducing treatment costs. This biosensor technology will potentially be the first product on the market for a portable, rapid and cost-effective diagnosis of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This project may accelerate POC diagnostics research and personalized medicine, including early detection and screening, clinical diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control. Thus, it will permit a more effective deployment of therapies. The developed product is expected to find broader commercial applications including, but not limited to, preclinical and clinical researchers, life science studies, hospital and healthcare facilities, diagnostics and patient monitoring, home and remote use, as well as drug discovery in pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.This I-Corps project will explore the market potential for the innovative biosensor. The end product will be a lab-on-a-chip based POC technology for use in complex biological media, like whole blood, which commonly requires sample pretreatment and/or separation of the large blood cells. The POC device will provide exclusive delivery of protein biomarkers (e.g. troponin) to the detection area for highly sensitive and reliable detection from a drop of whole blood. The uniqueness of the innovation lies in the nanoscale structures that are fabricated into thin metal films and integrated with microfluidics for direct optical measurement. The combination of on-chip/in-line sample preparation and fluid handling integrated with a simple, label-free, optical detection system enables a complete lab-on-chip system. This system may offer several advantages over conventional biomarker detection methods for use in complex samples. These include high throughput, high sensitivity, elimination of interferences from large blood cells, lower cost, ease of operation and simplified sample pretreatment. The I-Corps project attempts to explore innovative applications of parallel, multiple biomarker analysis and determine the readiness to transition the biosensor to a viable product.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.