PATENTS
Apparatus And Method For Overcoming Minimal Mass Sensitivity Limitations In A Shear Horizontal Surface Acoustic Wave Biosensor
Patent Number: US 2021/0181192 Al
Date Filed: June 17, 2021
Country Filed In: USA
Product Application: SAW Biosensor
Description:
The invention includes a method of assaying an analyte in a sample in a portable, handheld microfluidic reader. The method includes the steps of inserting the sample in the reader; capturing the analyte with a first antibody having a DNA tag attached thereto; capturing the analyte in the sample with a second antibody attached to a surface or having a magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) attached thereto; where a sandwich including the magnetic nanoparticle, first and second antibodies, the analyte and the DNA tag is formed; replicating the DNA tag using isothermal amplification to a predetermined amount of DNA tags detectable by a detector sufficient to overcome the minimal mass sensitivity limitations of the detector; and measuring the amount of replicated DNA tags using the detector. The invention also includes an apparatus or handheld portable field microfluidic reader in which the method is performed.
Field of Use: The SAW Biosensor is part of Josh Shachar's exploration into developing next-generation biosensors that are capable of detecting specific biomarkers within a sample at clinically relevant levels in a simple portable point-of-care-device that can provide physicians and healthcare workers rapid and affordable pathogen detection without the need for a dedicated lab and specialized technicians and all the associated cost therein. The SAW Biosensor technology represented a major leap forward in being able to lower the limits-of-detection and the time-to-detection of a biomarker by utilizing the generation of a Surface Acoustic Wave across a sensor-surface where targeted antigens had been captured from a sample of interest.