SBIR-STTR Award

Airborne particulate matter (PM) derived from a variety of natural sources (volcanic activity, forest fires) is omnipresent. However, human activity since the industrial revolution and the advent of the internal combustion engine has substantially increased the concentration of PM, particularly in urban areas. Human derived PM tends to be of smaller size, facilitating entry into the body through the respiratory and digestive tracts, as well as through the skin. It also tends to have adsorbed chemical species with greater toxicity than its natural counterparts. The explosive growth of nanotechnology in research and consumer products (sunscreens, cosmetics, paint) is also creating an array of ultrafine materials with largely unknown health effects. Despite numerous studies implicating PM in various disorders including acute respiratory infections, lung cancer, and chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, the specific biological mechanisms involved are not fully understood. Pathologics seeks to leverage its proprietary Arrayed Imaging Reflectometery (AIR) biosensing platform to build a device capable of capturing the detailed physiological response to PM exposure by profiling key marker proteins in conveniently available biosamples such as a finger pick of blood, urine, mucous, saliva, etc. Currently, such testing takes hours and is often done with individual tests. AIR is capable of sensitive and simultaneous protein detection with a device that is currently the size of a laptop computer. The low complexity of the testing platform will also enable the development of handheld units that would be particularly useful for profiling exposure response in the field. In addition to saving time and offering greater convenience these multiplex sensors will allow far more molecular data to be collected than is currently feasible.

Thesaurus Terms:
air pollution, environmental exposure, immunologic assay /test, monitoring device, technology /technique development biomarker, portable biomedical equipment, protein protein interaction reflection spectrometry

Airborne particulate matter (PM) derived from a variety of natural sources (volcanic activity, forest fires) is omnipresent. However, human activity since the industrial revolution and the advent of the internal combustion engine has substantially increased the concentration of PM, particularly in urban areas. Human derived PM tends to be of smaller size, facilitating entry into the body through the respiratory and digestive tracts, as well as through the skin. It also tends to have adsorbed chemical species with greater toxicity than its natural counterparts. The explosive growth of nanotechnology in research and consumer products (sunscreens, cosmetics, paint) is also creating an array of ultrafine materials with largely unknown health effects. Despite numerous studies implicating PM in various disorders including acute respiratory infections, lung cancer, and chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, the specific biological mechanisms involved are not fully understood. Adarza BioSystems, Inc. seeks to leverage its proprietary Arrayed Imaging Reflectometery (AIR) biosensing platform to build a device capable of rapidly capturing the detailed physiological response to PM exposure by profiling key marker proteins (potentially >100) in conveniently available biosamples such as a finger pick of blood, urine, mucous, saliva, etc. Currently, such testing takes hours and is often done with individual singleplex tests. AIR is capable of sensitive and simultaneous protein detection with a device that is currently the size of a laptop computer. The goal of this proposal is to take our multiplexed laboratory assay, and seal it in a protective plastic cartridge so that fieldwork in unpredictable and unprotected environments would become realistic. We intend to collaborate with a company that has a long track record in building portable bioassays to military specifications to facilitate this development effort. An improved optical reader will also be designed with an integrated processing unit to control fluidic operations within the cartridge. Finally, a bank of ~1800 samples used in the previous population study will be tested using both the newly developed AIR bioassay and a more standard laboratory assay to verify the performance and of the AIR bioassay system. By the end of this 2-year project we intend to have a field deployable prototype and assay cartridges that are ready for large population studies.

Public Health Relevance:
Particulate matter (PM) is a major concern in the field of environmental medicine because exposure to small particles through air, water, or contact is unavoidable and these materials are known to enter the body through the respiratory and digestive tract, and even through skin. Exposure to PM has been linked to a variety of respiratory, inflammatory, and cardiac disorders, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Adarza Biosystems, Inc. seeks to integrate its rapid and highly multiplexed protein profiling technology, in a field- deployable system capable of measuring a participant's physiological response to particulate matter or other environmental stressors in large population studies.

Public Health Relevance Statement:
Project Narrative Particulate matter (PM) is a major concern in the field of environmental medicine because exposure to small particles through air, water, or contact is unavoidable and these materials are known to enter the body through the respiratory and digestive tracts, and even through skin. Exposure to PM has been linked to a variety of respiratory, inflammatory, and cardiac disorders, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Adarza Biosystems, Inc. seeks to integrate its rapid and highly multiplexed protein profiling technology, in a field- deployable system capable of measuring a participant's physiological response to particulate mater or other environmental stressors in large population studies.

NIH Spending Category:
Bioengineering; Biotechnology; Health Effects of Climate Change; Nanotechnology

Project Terms:
APM; Acute respiratory infection; Address; Affect; Air; Airborne Particulate Matter; Algorithms; Alimentary Canal; Antibodies; Armed Forces Personnel; Assay; Bioassay; Biologic Assays; Biological; Biological Assay; Biosensing Technics; Biosensing Techniques; Blood; Blood Sample; Blood Serum; Blood specimen; Cancer of Lung; Cardiac Diseases; Cardiac Disorders; Cardiovascular Diseases; Chemicals; Chronic; Cohort Studies; Computer Programs; Computer software; Computers; Concurrent Studies; Consultations; Cosmetics; Data; Detection; Development; Devices; Digestive Tract; Disease; Disorder; Elements; Environment; Environmental Exposure; Environmental Medicine; Equipment; Event; Exposure to; Feedback; Fingers; Fire - disasters; Fires; Freeze Drying; Freeze Dryings; Funding Opportunities; GI Tract; Gases, Inert; Gastrointestinal Tract; Gastrointestinal tract structure; Generalized Growth; Goals; Grant; Graphical interface; Group 18 Elements; Growth; Head and Neck, Saliva; Health; Heart Diseases; Hour; Housing; Human; Human Activities; Human Resources; Human, General; Humidity; Hydrogen Oxide; Image; Immune Markers; Immune response; Immune system; Immunologic Markers; Incubated; Individual; Inflammatory; International; Investigators; Label; Laboratories; Lead; Link; Liquid substance; Location; Lyophilization; Malignant Tumor of the Lung; Malignant neoplasm of lung; Man (Taxonomy); Man, Modern; Manpower; Manuals; Measurement; Measures; Mechanics; Medical center; Methods and Techniques; Methods, Other; Microfluidic; Microfluidics; Military; Military Personnel; Moab, Clinical Treatment; Modification; Monoclonal Antibodies; Mucous body substance; Mucus; NIH; Nanoscale Science; Nanotechnology; National Institutes of Health; National Institutes of Health (U.S.); Noble Gases; Operation; Operative Procedures; Operative Surgical Procedures; Optical Readers; Optics; Paint; Participant; Particulate; Particulate Matter; Pathologic; Pb element; Performance; Performance at work; Phase; Physiologic; Physiological; Plastics; Pollution; Population Study; Process; Production; Protein Biochips; Protein Chips; Protein Microarray; Protein Microchips; Proteins; Protocol; Protocols documentation; Pulmonary Cancer; Pulmonary malignant Neoplasm; Rare Gases; Reader; Readers, Optical; Relative; Relative (related person); Research; Research Personnel; Researchers; Reticuloendothelial System, Blood; Risk; Running; SBIR; SBIRS (R43/44); Safety; Saliva; Sampling; Serum; Si element; Signaling Protein; Silicon; Skin; Small Business Innovation Research; Small Business Innovation Research Grant; Software; Solutions; Source; Sunblock; Sunscreening Agents; Sunscreens; Surgical; Surgical Interventions; Surgical Procedure; System; System, LOINC Axis 4; Techniques; Technology; Temperature; Testing; Time; Tissue Growth; Toxic effect; Toxicities; Trehalose; Ultrafine; United States National Institutes of Health; Universities; Urinary System, Urine; Urine; Vacuum; Validation; WHBLOOD; Water; Whole Blood; Work; alimentary tract; alpha-D-Glucopyranoside, alpha-D-glucopyranosyl; base; biosensing; body system, allergic/immunologic; cardiovascular disorder; computer program/software; computerized data processing; consumer product; cosmetic product; cost; data mining; data processing; datamining; design; designing; develop software; developing computer software; digestive canal; disease/disorder; environmental agent; environmental stressor; experience; fluid; fluid flow; forest; gas element; gene product; graphic user interface; graphical user interface; heart disorder; heavy metal Pb; heavy metal lead; host response; imaging; immunoresponse; improved; instrument; interest; job performance; laptop; liquid; lung cancer; meetings; mucous; nano particulate; nano scale Science; nano tech; nano technology; nanoparticulate; nanotech; novel; ontogeny; organ system, allergic/immunologic; particle; performance tests; personnel; protein profiling; prototype; public health relevance; respiratory; response; scale up; seal; sensor; signal processing; small molecule; software development; surgery; urban area; user-friendly; work performance