Technology To Improve the Robustness of Diagnostic Assays

不需要组织取样的微创诊断分析是检测包括侵入性病原体在内的广泛疾病的理想方法。来自这些病原体的基于RNA的生物标志物被释放到血液中，并成为血液中无细胞RNA库的一部分，使它们有希望用于疾病检测。然而，这些生物标志物通常存在于少量，并且非常脆弱。在血液样品的储存条件超出最佳处理条件的情况下，样品的质量会受到损害，从而降低生物标志物分析的灵敏度和准确性。我们提出了一种新的系统，需要核酸结合聚合物来稳定血液中存在的RNA标记物，以防止它们在非最佳温度和处理（时间）条件下降解。可以预见的是，用稳定剂处理的血液样品和随后的分析可以在没有样品降解的情况下进行。在成功完成该项目后，我们的工业合作伙伴Aquila Diagnostic Systems Inc.预计将推出新的采血系统，这将导致新的收入来源，并增加加拿大的就业机会。

Minimally invasive diagnostic analyses that do not require tissue sampling is a desirable approach for detectionof wide range of diseases, including invasive pathogens. RNA-based biomarkers from these pathogens arereleased to the bloodstream and become part of the cell free RNA pool in blood, making them promising fordisease detection. These biomarkers, however, usually exist in small amounts and are exceptionally fragile. Insituations where the storage conditions of the blood sample fall outside optimal handling conditions, the qualityof the samples is compromised, thereby decreasing the sensitivity and accuracy of biomarker analysis. We areproposing a novel system that entails nucleic acid binding polymers to stabilize RNA markers present in bloodto prevent their degradation under non-optimal temperature and processing (time) conditions. It is envisionedthat the blood samples treated with the stabilizing agents and subsequent analysis can be carried out withoutsample degradation. Upon successful completion of this project, our industrial partner Aquila DiagnosticSystems Inc. is expected to launch of the new blood collection system that will result in a new source ofrevenue and increase the job creation in Canada.