Instrument Will Enable Near Real-Time Detection of Biomarkers and Drug Targets
Fayetteville, AR - VIC Foundry, in collaboration with the University of Buffalo, has been awarded a $259,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. STTR grants support research and development to de-risk new technologies that have significant commercial potential.
The grant will help VIC Foundry develop a microwave microreactor for in-situ capture and digestion of target proteins, leveraging an extraordinary acceleration effect of a unique microwave resonator on the binding and pyrolytic reaction rates. The microreactor can be directly coupled to mass spectrometry for ultrafast (near real-time), unambiguous detection of protein biomarkers.
“We are excited to receive NIH funding for this high-impact technology that can help researchers develop new diagnostics and treatments across a wide range of conditions,” said Calvin Goforth, CEO of VIC Foundry.
Proteins are the most important and established class of biomarkers for clinical diagnosis, monitoring, and management. In diagnosis, risk stratification, and management of many life-threatening diseases/conditions such as myocardial infarction, every minute counts and unambiguous detection of relevant protein biomarkers is crucial. Unfortunately, the workflow of current approach–mass spectrometry–is bottlenecked by the sample preparation process. The microwave microreactor technology will address this significant limitation.
The proposed technology and product will streamline the workflow of mass spectrometry analysis of proteins, free end users from the laborious and tedious multiple sample preparation steps, and allow near real-time and unambiguous detection of protein biomarkers, as well as therapeutics, drug targets, and more.
About VIC Foundry
VIC Foundry is one element of the VIC innovation ecosystem that includes VIC Tech, VIC Investor Network, and various associated programs such as the VIC Fellows. VIC Foundry develops technologies that have substantial potential impact and commercial promise but need additional development before private equity funding. VIC Foundry further develops promising technologies by accessing various grant funding opportunities. Upon successfully completing the given grant-funded project, a new company is formed, VIC places an initial executive team, and the VIC Investor Network makes a founding investment into the newly formed company. To learn more, visit vicfoundry.com