SBIR Phase I: Improved COVID-19 Testing by Rapid Sample Purification

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is an improved reliability for coronavirus detection. The proposed project will develop a tissue purification technology to extract (purify) virus from patient samples. Purer samples (more coronavirus, less confounding materials) is anticipated to improve signal from virus and reduce signal from non-virus materials, and is therefore anticipated to improve the reliability of testing (fewer false positives and false negatives). This can potentially impact the social distancing of the pandemic. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project of a system to extract purified samples for coronavirus testing for downstream testing, such as PCR-based analysis. The system is a novel purification technology that uses biological (antibodies) and other physical to quickly and reliably extract target microorganisms (here COVID viruses) from human samples. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.