Rapid Pathogen Threat Detection in Aerial and Field Environments

As of 10/12/20, the virus has killed over 215,000 Americans. Because of the high risk and the shortage of clinical testing, there is a high level of interest in developing new methods to continually monitor the presence of the virus. The Need: Current methods of analyzing viruses and their ability to attach to cells and bacteria have drawbacks. For one, they are slow. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, they destroy the pathogen that they are identifying. Destruction of the detected virus prevents studying it and learning what is needed to defeat it. Detection of viral single stranded RNA, such as SARS-COV-2, using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), RNA Sequencing (RNA-Seq) and microarray technologies obscures viral load because the data output is a bulk cell average. The Opportunity: CBio is developing cellPhoresis®, a portable microfluidics-based platform to rapidly (minutes) and non-destructively identify pathogens such as bacteria and viruses, potentially including SARS-CoV-2. cellPhoresis® is a live cell electro-biophysical testing methodology that enables non-destructive longitudinal testing of cells to identify genetic and phenotypic feature differences. Electro- biophysical testing is able to monitor viral load dynamics in cells in real time. The method is a faster and portable version of similar style lab based flow cytometry RNA assay like PrimeFlowTM RNA sold by ThermoFisher. The simplicity of the test enables longitudinal assessment of patient health by testing readily accessible fluids like urine, saliva, and whole blood. Proof it Works: cellPhoresis® has been used academically to identify the signature of drug resistance in bacteria, rapidly serotype sub-strains of zoonotic bacteria like E. Coli and salmonella, characterize bacteriophage, enrich subpopulations of virus, and identification of neural stem and progenitor cell subpopulations. Our Mission: CBio believes arming medical professionals with cellPhoresis® in hospitals and home-care settings will enable robust monitoring of viral load as well as changing state of patient health to guide effective treatment. Viral load dynamics provides better insights into the physiological state of an infected patient. Tracking this signature over time will give medical professionals the critical information they need to ensure appropriate treatment and that the treatment is working as expected.