Development of a highly multiplexed optical detection system for analysis of complex, PCR-based DNA tests.

最近基因组信息的增加导致具有特征的遗传疾病的数量呈指数增长。这一点以及对感染过程的更深入了解，产生了在一次测试中尽可能快地检测更多目标（如病原体和导致遗传变异的疾病）的需求。一种常用的方法是实时聚合酶链反应（real-time PCR），但这种配方复合检测的应用受到现有检测系统固有缺陷、技术成本和产生结果所需时间的限制。设计和制造一种能够同时分析大量目标的快速低成本光学系统是本研究的目标。通过允许在一次测试中筛选更多的目标，这种方法将降低此类测试的成本，并将降低采用该技术的成本，同时减少获得结果的时间，以便“在你等待的时候”执行，例如在医生的手术中。类似地，这将允许新的基于PCR的技术，以前传统的实时PCR无法实现。这方面的例子包括法医学，因为它能够在一次运行中分析更多的目标。这也可以应用于复杂的医学诊断，如混合感染。该系统本身也比现有的方法快很多倍，因为它可以在一次读取中检测并反卷积所有可见波长的光，而不必在一系列滤波器之间切换，这大大增加了当前仪器的分析时间，并减少了可以同时测试的分析物的数量。从本质上讲，这一概念验证将利用卫星成像和数学建模领域的专业知识，结合我们的超快速热循环IP来解决标记PCR目标的多重检测问题，从而允许对不断增长的市场利基进行独特的定位。

Recent increases in genomic information has led to an exponential increase in the numbers ofgenetic diseases characterised. This and a greater understanding of the infection process,generates the need to detect larger numbers of targets such as pathogens and disease causinggenetic variants as rapidly as possible and in a single test.One such approach commonly in use is real-time PCR and yet the application of this formultiplex testing has been limited by inherent flaws in existing detection systems, cost of thetechnology, and the time taken to generate results.The design and manufacture of a rapid and low cost optical system capable of concurrentlyanalysing a large number of targets is the goal of this study. Such an approach would reducethe cost of such testing, by allowing more targets to be screened in a single test and wouldreduce the cost for uptake of the technology, as well as reducing the time to result to the pointit could be performed "while you wait", for example at a doctors surgery.Similarly this would allow novel PCR based techniques, previously impossible byconventional real-time PCR. Examples could include forensics, by virtue of being able toanalyse more targets in a single run. This could also be applied to complex medicaldiagnostics such as mixed infections.The system would inherently also be many times faster than existing approaches, since itcould detect and deconvolute all visible wavelengths of light in a single reading as opposed tohaving to switch between a series of filters which greatly increases the analysis time oncurrent instrumentation as well as reducing the number of analytes that can concurrently betested for.In essence this proof of concept will use expertise in the field of satellite imaging andmathematical modelling in conjunction with our Ultra-Rapid thermal cycling IP to solve theproblem of multiplex detection of labelled PCR targets and hence allow unique targeting of agrowing market niche.