A Versatile PointofCare Platform for RealTime LabelFree Multianalyte COVID19 Diagnosis
Project Abstract:
Immediate and widely accessible diagnostics is the key factor needed for all patients at risk for contracting the rapidly spreading and potentially fatal pathogen COVID19 Accurate on demand testing demands a versatile sensitive and scalable platform capable of incorporating both protein antigen and RNAbased biodetection strategies heretofore confined to a laboratory setting in a pointofcare setting Here we introduce a platform deeply integrating microfluidics silicon nanophotonics and integrated circuits computer chip technology to achieve both viral RNA and antigen detection on a single lowcost disposable platform Our sensors are uniquely sensitive and massively reduce assay complexity through label free detection of viral RNA and antigen using using multiplexed banks of functionalized onchip nanophotonic ring resonators integrated with electronics to achieve near single molecule sensitivity This obviates the labor intensive process of introducing secondary antibodies for protein diagnostics and RNA amplification for PCR A high scalable architecture enables a large panel of measurements on a single die Synergistic design of onchip microfluidics enables multiple independent chemical environments onchip simultaneously measurement of proteins small molecules and RNA on a single platform Our solution leverages the economies of scale of the computer chip industry to rapidly scale our design at costs compatible with disposable devices Through RADx our team spanning physicians and experts in biosensor design at the UC San Francisco and experts in microelectronic and photonic sensors at UC Berkeley will build on our demonstrated siliconphotonic labelfree biosensing platform to create a disposble diagnostic platform for COVID19
