{"id":465422,"date":"2021-01-06T10:41:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-06T15:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=465422"},"modified":"2025-11-19T07:59:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T12:59:36","slug":"optical-chip-disposable-card-virus-detection-465422","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/optical-chip-disposable-card-virus-detection-465422\/","title":{"rendered":"Chip on a card would detect COVID-19 antibodies in a minute"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cCompletely new diagnostic platform\u201d could prove to be a valuable clinical tool for detecting exposure to multiple viruses.<\/h2>\n
\"Iridescent
Rochester researchers are developing an optical chip on a disposable card that can detect exposure to multiple viruses\u2014including the coronavirus that causes COVID-19\u2014within a minute and from a single drop of blood. (Courtesy of the Miller Lab)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Researchers in Rochester are developing an optical chip on a disposable card that can detect exposure to multiple viruses within a minute\u2014including the coronavirus that causes COVID-19\u2014from a single drop of blood.<\/p>\n

Led by University of Rochester<\/a> Medical Center<\/a> researcher Benjamin Miller<\/a>, the $1.7 million project is funded by the US Department of Defense Manufacturing Technology Program using CARES Act funds through a contract with AIM Photonics<\/a>. The collaboration also involves Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, which develops and manufactures innovative laboratory testing and blood-typing solutions at its Global Center for R&D Excellence in Rochester; Syntec Optics, a maker of polymer optics in Rochester; researchers at the NY CREATES 300mm microelectronics research facility in Albany, New York, and at the University of California at Santa Barbara; and the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a completely new diagnostic platform,\u201d says Miller, the Dean\u2019s Professor of Dermatology and a professor of biomedical engineering, optics, and biochemistry and biophysics. \u201cWe think this is going to be valuable in very broad applications for clinical diagnostics, not just COVID-19.\u201d<\/p>\n

Key to the technology is an optical chip, no larger than a grain of rice. Proteins associated with eight different viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, are contained in separate sensor areas of the chip. If someone has been exposed to any of the viruses, antibodies to those viruses in the blood sample will be drawn to the proteins and detected.<\/p>\n

Antibodies are proteins produced by the immune system to fight off specific bacteria and viruses. They remain in the immune system even after a patient recovers from an infection.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is exciting to see the sensors work developed by AIM Photonics, over the past five years, now play a part in more effective testing for COVID-19 and future diseases,\u201d says Michael Cumbo, CEO of AIM Photonics. \u201cThe industry, academic, and government partnership is a fundamental piece of this institute. Together, we foster successful technology developments such as this optical chip, which in turn enables a very innovative diagnostic platform.\u201d<\/p>\n

The card will enable clinicians not only to detect and study COVID-19, but also to better understand potential relationships between COVID-19 infection and previous infections and immunity to other respiratory viruses, including circulating coronaviruses that cause the common cold.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut one of the attractive aspects of this is there\u2019s a pathway for this technology to eventually be used in a doctor\u2019s office or a pharmacy,\u201d Miller says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to have a validated benchtop prototype by this winter, early spring at the latest.\u201d<\/p>\n

The researchers will use blood drawn from 100 consenting convalescent COVID-19 patients to test the device\u2019s effectiveness.<\/p>\n

When the researchers complete and validate the initial prototype, they will be able to apply for up to $5.3 million in additional funding to move the technology closer to commercial availability.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\"AAASTwo Rochester scientists named AAAS fellows<\/strong><\/a>
\nTodd Krauss, professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry, and Benjamin Miller, the Dean\u2019s Professor of Dermatology, were recognized for their \u201cefforts toward advancing scientific applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\"nanoparticleRochester researchers pursue quick ways to detect COVID-19<\/strong><\/a>
\nNanomembranes, optical sensors, and blood analysis: Rochester faculty are turning previous research avenues to focus on ways to quickly detect novel coronavirus to speed treatment.<\/span><\/div>\n
\"detail\u2018Organ on a chip\u2019 is the wave of the future<\/strong><\/a>
\nRochester researchers are building technology to predict the course of tendon injuries\u2014a form of personalized medicine that will lead to more effective treatments.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers in Rochester are developing a \u201ccompletely new diagnostic platform\u201d that could prove to be a valuable clinical tool for detecting exposure to multiple viruses from a single drop of blood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":286,"featured_media":465452,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42472,116],"tags":[28572,37592,28152,18742,36582,18632,18652,9186],"class_list":["post-465422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-medicine","category-sci-tech","tag-benjamin-miller","tag-covid-19","tag-department-of-biochemistry-and-biophysics","tag-department-of-biomedical-engineering","tag-department-of-dermatology","tag-hajim-school-of-engineering-and-applied-sciences","tag-institute-of-optics","tag-research-funding"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChip on a card would detect COVID-19 antibodies in a 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