SBIR-STTR Award

Countries hostile to the U.S. have or are in the process of developing or obtaining Weapons of Mass Destruction, in particular chemical and/or biological (CB) warfare agents, °asymmetric threats°". The OmniSite/Raytheon team proposes meeting this CB threat with biotechnology based on OmniSite°¶s ongoing Aptamer research and development efforts to develop a handheld, lightweight, easy to use CB Aptamer-based ECL Point Detection Sensor (AEPDS) which is highly specific and sensitive only to its target CB agent. OmniSite will develop aptamers by a process called °Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment°" (SELEX). SELEX aptamers will be incorporated into miniaturized, disposable Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems-Electrochemiluminescence (MEMS-ECL) sensor chip capable of detecting concentration levels of at least 8 different CB agents simultaneously with timely (< one minute) detection sensitivity for protein toxins in the nanogram to picogram range and anthrax spore sensitivity in the 10 °V 100 spore range. AEPDS will be hand-held and battery operated for individual sailor use. Planned efforts: ,h Phase_I: Set generation of specific DNA aptamers, AEDPS preliminary design, and MEMS-ECL biochip prototype. ,h Phase_II: Clone/sequence aptamers, optimize assays for field use, and final systems AEPDS design/prototype/test. ,h Phase_III: Transition to production ready design and explore commercial market. There are worldwide potential benefits for the OmniSite chemical/biological (CB) aptamer-based ECL point detection sensor (AEPDS) that is a lightweight, portable, quick and easy to set-up and use as a simple and cost-effective method of detection and quantitation. The AEPDS area of use could be expanded to battlefield of mines and mitigation of unexploded ordnance, to commercial applications as an unobtrusive, passive, in situ detection of explosives in congregated public areas such as airports, train stations, sports stadiums, any crowed area that could be a potential terrorist target. AEPDS could evolve into commercially feasible °fire/smoke detector°" type device mounted in sensitive areas to provide homeland detection warning capability for explosive devices. Furthermore, the AEPDS core technology, SELEX is a combinatorial chemistry technology, has tremendous potential in the detection of other molecules of interest such as industrial environmental chemicals, medical diagnostics, food safety, and drug discovery screening. As this SBIR progresses, Raytheon will work with OmniSite to ensure that the technology and systems approach can be integrated with larger systems activities that Raytheon is pursuing and implementing, such as OFW and FCS, along translating the AEPDS design into a commercially viable product.

Keywords:
Aptamers, Biowarfare, Combinatorial, Dna, Electrochemiluminescence, Mems, Microfluidics, Selex

OmniSite Biodiagnostics, Inc. and its parent company, Systems and Processes Engineering Corporation (SPEC), have extensive experience in both microfluidic, micromechanical (MEMS) and Fluorescence detection technologies. OmniSite proposes to design and prototype a compact, handheld and low power MEMS-Fluorescence sensor capable of simultaneously detecting different biowarfare agents in aqueous samples. OmniSite, in collaboration with Dr. Andrew Ellington's laboratory at UT Austin and Accacia International, will develop DNA Aptamer coated magnetic microbead based fluorescence assays to be analyzed in a prototype MEMS cartridge and ultimately read on a Fluorescence Cartridge Reader. DNA Aptamers are short oligonucleotides that act like antibodies by binding any target against which they are raised with very high affinity and specificity. Aptamers are generated by a process called SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment) consisting of alternating iterations of affinity selection (from a random DNA library allowed to interact with the immobilized target), washing and PCR amplification of selected DNA sequences that bind the target

Keywords:
ANTHRAX, SEB, APTAMER, DNA, SELEX, MEMS, FLUORESCENCE, MICROBEAD