Carbon Nanotube Based Biosensor for Organ Injury Detection

Organ injury has multiple causes including drug toxicity, abdominal trauma, cardiac surgery, sepsis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), etc. which can lead to chronic injury, failure and life threatening circumstances. Early predictive biomarkers for acute organ failure (e.g., liver and kidney) have been identified and may be useful for the prevention of chronic organ failure, but no current technology exists for rapid assessment of these biomarkers at the point of sample collection. In order to address this urgent need, Pharmaco-Kinesis Corporation (PKC) will develop a Multiplex Organ Failure Biomarker assay (MORF) based on new carbon nanotube biosensor technology currently under development at PKC for the detection of cancer biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid. The biosensor utilizes carbon nanotube functionalized nano-capacitive immunosensors (nano-CAPS) to quantify and monitor a panel of biomarkers for the early diagnosis of acute liver and kidney failure. In Phase I, PKC will develop a MORF prototype to demonstrate the detection of multiple organ failure biomarkers which will guide design of a fully functional Phase II system. In Phase III, PKC will focus on the initial product as directed by the DHP.