SBIR Phase I: High performance magnetic labels for more accurate quantification of biomolecules in complex samples

The broader impact/commercial potential of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to make more medical tests available at distributed testing facilities like clinics and pharmacies at a lower cost. To accomplish this, this project seeks to develop labels for biomolecules and cells which can be accurately quantified in complex environments which will benefit several types of diagnostic tests. lateral flow assays, for example, possess many desirable traits including fast results, a long shelf life, minimal training, and low cost, but lack sufficient sensitivity for some applications because the tags are embedded in a dense paper-like material that distorts optical and electronic signals. Magnetic detection, in contrast, is insensitive to biological materials and the plastics. This project seeks to develop magnetic tags which are more than an order of magnitude easier to detect with magnetic sensors. The objective is to create a precise and sensitive system for detection which operates equally well in any media or sample conditions. The feasibility of the product will be demonstrated by fabricating these magnetic labels and implementing them in existing tests and demonstrating more than an order of magnitude improved sensitivity as compared to existing labels. The proposed project seeks to improve quantification of biomolecules in complex samples by providing a line of magnetic labels which are more than an order of magnitude easier to detect with magnetic sensors. Optical and electronic labels are both sensitive methods for detection but can be limited by the sample media. Optical detection is affected by scattering, autofluorescence, and sample geometry. Electronic detection is sensitive to sample pH and ionic strength. Magnetic detection is insensitive to the media, biological samples, and even the container. This is particularly relevant to lateral flow assays, the most common point-of-care test, where labels are buried in a paper-like material. Physics simulations have been used to identify a class of magnetic labels which should be more than an order of magnitude easier to count with magnetic sensors but will require new manufacturing processes. Work on this project will involve developing new tooling to manufacture this tag, measuring the magnetic properties of the produced label and comparing to theory, and working with medical device manufacturers to test this label in existing devices.