SBIR Phase II: Fluorescent Polymeric Nanoparticles

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a new generation of fluorescence amplifying reagents based on poly (phenylene ethynylene (PPE)) nanoparticles. Because of the role of the amplifying polymer in the enhanced sensitivity of these compounds, these compounds are called Amplimer reagents. The project will develop and launch two types of Amplimer reagents: microarray and quantitative PCR reagents. The Amplimer reagents will improve the sensitivity and performance of fluorescence-based assays by providing brighter, more stable fluorescence signals and by improving sensitivity through fluorescence amplification effects. The commercial and broader impacts of this technology are consumable fluorescent reagents that improve the sensitivity and reliability of two rapidly growing diagnostic platforms for genetic sequence analysis: microarray-based assays and quantitative PCR assays. Diagnostics based on genetic sequence information currently account for $1 billion of the $24 billion dollar diagnostics market. This figure is expected to grow significantly as the follow-on of the human genome project filters through drug discovery and medical science.