By Draper
Natural and engineered pathogens present significant risks to all aspects of our national security—military and public health, environmental health, food safety, and global economic and political stability. To bolster our defense, we engineer first-of-a-kind technologies to detect endemic, emerging, and engineered pathogenic threats. We engineer sophisticated systems that incorporate automated sample preparation, custom microfluidics, and integrated optical systems in a portable form to meet customer needs for advanced biodetection systems usable in the field. Our biodetection engineering capabilities are exemplified in our work under DARPA’s “Detect It with Gene Editing Technologies” (DIGET) program. DIGET calls for a portable device capable of screening clinical or environmental samples for up to 1,000 nucleic acid targets—with a program goal of sampling results in 15 minutes. To meet this need, we are collaborating with other team members on engineering a massively multiplexed detection (MMD) device suitable for use in the field. We are applying several of our technologies in the device’s design. Our innovative approach to microfluidic device development and proprietary microfluidic mixing technology, ideal for applications with low size, weight, and power requirements, will enable high-efficiency fluid transport in a disposable cartridge format. Our demonstrated experience in the development of high-density DNA microarrays will inform the development path to scale teammate chemistry to 1,000-plex assay. Our team is currently focused on optimizing the assay, increasing the level of multiplexing, building automated software control and further maturing the integrated hardware for the MMD device.
