STTR Phase I: COVID-19 - High-Brightness Fluorescent Probes for Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to develop a new probe to detect low levels of viral load, such as that causing COVID-19. Rapid and reliable kits are not currently readily available. This project will provide rapid detection of viral material using exsiting cost-effective techniques with fewer detection errors. Being able to quantify and track viral loads at low concentration and high accuracy will expedite tests, reduce false negatives, and accelerate vaccine and drug development to combat COVID-19, and future pandemics. This STTR Phase I project will develop innovative fluorescent probes based on high-brightness fluorophores/dyes (HBFs) that offer tunable extinction coefficients up to several thousand times higher than commercial dyes. Based on this HBF platform technology, we will be able to create high-brightness qPCR probes that can specifically quantify viral RNAs by strong and tunable fluorescent signals at fewer amplification cycles and minimum replication errors. The activity, efficiency, and specificity of high-brightness qPCR probes will be evaluated in the project. 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.