SBIR-STTR Award

MicroRNA targets have shown enormous potential for understanding, diagnosing, and even treating the world's most prevalent diseases including cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's, diabetes and many more. Unfortunately, miRNAs are particularly challenging to quantify due to their small size, sequence homology, and wide range of abundance. As such, miRNA profiling is either expensive or low-throughput using today's state-of-the art technologies. To overcome these limitations, a new multiplexing technology built on encoded hydrogel microparticles will be developed for miRNA profiling. Preliminary results suggest that this technology will provide high sensitivity, single-nucleotide specificity, and rapid analysis. The specific aims for Phase I of this project are to (1) develop and assess target labeling schemes for high-performance detection, (2) perform multiplexed miRNA profiling over a diverse set of targets, and (3) demonstrate predictive expression profiling for cancer detection in human-derived samples. This project could have implications in cancer research, drug discovery, and cancer diagnostics.

Public Health Relevance:
The aim of this project is to develop a technology capable of profiling across all human microRNA in a manner that is accurate, rapid, and inexpensive. This tool will be enabling for cancer research, drug discovery, and cancer diagnostics.

Public Health Relevance Statement:
The aim of this project is to develop a technology capable of profiling across all human microRNA in a manner that is accurate, rapid, and inexpensive. This tool will be enabling for cancer research, drug discovery, and cancer diagnostics.

Project Terms:
1,2-Ethanediol; 2-Hydroxyethanol; Arts; Assay; Binding; Binding (Molecular Function); Bioassay; Biologic Assays; Biological Assay; Body Tissues; Brain; Cancer Detection; Cancer Diagnostics; Cancerous; Cancers; Cardiac Diseases; Cardiac Disorders; Clinical; Clinical Trials, Phase II; Code; Coding System; Data; Detection; Diabetes Mellitus; Diagnosis; Diagnostic; Dihydroxyethanes; Disease; Disorder; Down-Regulation; Down-Regulation (Physiology); Downregulation; Embryonic Tissue, Placenta; Encephalon; Encephalons; Ethanediols; Ethylene Glycols; Expression Profiling; Expression Signature; Future; Gene Products, RNA; Goals; Heart Diseases; High Throughput Assay; Human; Human, General; Hydrogels; Intention; Kinetic; Kinetics; Label; Lung; Malignant Neoplasms; Malignant Tumor; Man (Taxonomy); Man, Modern; Marketing; Micro RNA; MicroRNAs; Molecular Fingerprinting; Molecular Interaction; Molecular Profiling; Monoethylene Glycol; Nature; Nervous System, Brain; Nucleotides; Performance; Phase; Phase 2 Clinical Trials; Phase II Clinical Trials; Placenta; Placenta-Tissue, Cells; Placentoma, Normal; Placentome; RNA; RNA, Non-Polyadenylated; Reproducibility; Research; Respiratory System, Lung; Ribonucleic Acid; SBIR; SBIRS (R43/44); Sampling; Scanning; Scheme; Screening procedure; Sensitivity and Specificity; Sequence Homology; Small Business Innovation Research; Small Business Innovation Research Grant; Solutions; Specificity; Speed; Speed (motion); Stream; Structure; System; System, LOINC Axis 4; Targeted Research; Technology; Testing; Thermodynamic; Thermodynamics; Tissues; anticancer research; base; cancer research; cost; diabetes; disease/disorder; drug discovery; ethylene glycol; heart disorder; high throughput screening; homology (molecular); human tissue; malignancy; miRNA; molecuar profile; molecular signature; neoplasm/cancer; particle; phase 2 study; phase 2 trial; phase II trial; protocol, phase II; public health relevance; pulmonary; screening; screenings; study, phase II; success; tool

MicroRNA targets have shown enormous potential for understanding, diagnosing, and even treating the world's most prevalent diseases including cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's, diabetes and many more. Unfortunately, miRNAs are particularly challenging to quantify due to their small size, sequence homology, and wide range of abundance. As such, miRNA profiling is either expensive or low-throughput using today's state-of-the art technologies. To overcome these limitations, a new multiplexing technology built on encoded hydrogel microparticles and a custom microRNA labeling scheme will be scaled up, automated, and validated. This project could have implications in cancer research, drug discovery, and cancer diagnostics.

Public Health Relevance:
The aim of this project is to develop a technology capable of profiling across all human microRNA in a manner that is accurate, rapid, and inexpensive. This tool will be enabling for cancer research, drug discovery, and cancer diagnostics.

Public Health Relevance Statement:
The aim of this project is to develop a technology capable of profiling across all human microRNA in a manner that is accurate, rapid, and inexpensive. This tool will be enabling for cancer research, drug discovery, and cancer diagnostics.

NIH Spending Category:
Bioengineering; Biotechnology; Cancer; Genetics

Project Terms:
Alzheimer's Disease; anticancer research; base; Biological Assay; Cancer Diagnostics; cancer type; Cells; Clinical; Collaborations; commercialization; Comparative Study; Complementary DNA; Custom; Cytolysis; density; design; Detection; Devices; Diabetes Mellitus; Diagnosis; Discrimination (Psychology); Disease; drug discovery; Ensure; experience; Fireflies; Functional RNA; Gel; Genes; Goals; Heart Diseases; high throughput screening; Hour; Human; Hydrogels; Label; Laboratories; Leukemia, Myelocytic, Acute; Liquid substance; Literature; lithography; Malignant Neoplasms; meetings; MicroRNAs; Molecular Profiling; National Cancer Institute; Nucleic Acids; Nucleotides; Optics; particle; Patients; Performance; Phase; phase 1 study; phase 2 study; professor; prototype; Research; RNA; RNA purification; Sampling; scale up; Scanning; Scheme; Sequence Homology; Serum; Specificity; Structure; success; System; Technology; tool; Validation; Variant; Work