An Italian START UP offers its ultrasensitive and portable lab-on-a-chip technology and artificial intelligence algorithms for the rapid and sensitive analysis of biological fluids

The Italian START UP, is a spinoff of two internationally renowned research institutes, focuses on nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. The company was founded in 2020 to develop an ultrasensitive and portable lab-on-a-chip technology for rapid analysis of biological fluids. The technology underlying the device is nano-acoustics. Namely, surface acoustic waves (SAWs) at ultra-high-frequency (GHz) interact with the liquids and the molecules to be analyzed. The lab-on-a-chip can detect numerous analytes on a small surface, thanks to advanced techniques for immobilizing probing molecules and artificial intelligence data analysis. Some examples are the detection of measles virus in whole human saliva, SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, legionella bacteria, GFAP protein (traumatic brain injury biomarker), short nucleic acids (application under development). The device can find applications in several fields such as biomedicine, environmental monitoring, contaminants detection, security, industry 4.0, and food analysis. The device is ultrasensitive and portable. It consists of a mobile reader platform (20 X 20 cm) and a disposable cartridge where the biological fluid (~100 ul) is injected through a syringe, without the need for sample pre-processing. The platform integrates artificial intelligence algorithms for interpreting data, therefore, granting proper diagnostic, especially in case of multiple analysis giving its use with little trained personnel. Regarding performances: • 6+ analytes detectable in the same chip; • analysis time ranges from a few minutes to a max of one hour. • proteins lowest detectable concentration is ~ 10 pM - 1 nM depending on the application; • antibodies lowest detectable concentration is ~ 10 pM - 1 nM depending on the application; • virus lowest detectable concentration is ~ 500 units / ml • bacteria lowest detectable concentration is ~ 5000 bacteria / chip All performances strongly depend on the application and can be significantly enhanced if needed. The company received investments from two different Venture Funds and is supported by several Italian hospitals. This patented lab-on-a-chip is currently under validation for the rapid diagnosis of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) from blood. This point-of-care device will help diagnose and monitor TBI patients with fast and decentralized responses, reducing the use of unnecessary computerized axial tomographies (CATs) and magnetic resonances (MRs). Thanks to its portability, the device will be helpful in different scenarios: ambulances, war or emergency zones, populations at risk, or that need particular healthcare protocols (e.g., elders, children). The device is highly flexible, and the company can offer ad-hoc bio-detection development upon request of the client on specific biomarkers to adapt the platform for the detection of almost every biological molecule: • ANTIBODIES/PROTEINS • VIRUSES • BACTERIA • OTHER BIO-ANALYTES The ad-hoc bio-detection development is a service divided into three steps: • TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY • LAB-ENVIRONMENT TESTING • RELEVANT-ENVIRONMENT VALIDATION Related time of development (and consequently costs) strongly depend on the application requested. The time typically ranges from 6 to 18 months. The patent protecting the technology holds in Europe, the USA, China, Japan, and South Korea. The company is open for different typologies of collaborations • MANUFACTURING AGREEMENTS for companies interested in applying ore reselling the technology • LICENSING for companies interested in developing their own applications of the technology, especially outside EU. • JOINT VENTURES with partners interested in coinvesting for the development of the technology in particular fields of application • RESEARCH COOPERATIONS to test further applications of their technology joining further research projects. • TECHNICAL COOPERATION for ad-hoc bio detection development upon request