$1.5M Phase II SBIR Awarded to Expand Nanobind DNA/RNA Extraction Technology

BALTIMORE, MD--(Marketwired - October 07, 2015) - Circulomics has been awarded a $1.5M Phase II SBIR grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) to create a portfolio of DNA/RNA extraction products based on Nanobind technology.

Nanobind is a novel, silica nanomaterial that can be used for rapid, high molecular weight DNA and RNA extraction. It is fabricated using an easily-scaled, thermoplastic process. Unlike magnetic bead and spin column technologies, Nanobind does not shear DNA and is capable of extracting high purity, ultra high molecular weight DNA that is hundreds of kilobases to megabases in length, using a simple 1 hour bind, wash, and elute protocol.

As genomics tools become increasingly sophisticated, rising emphasis is being placed on long range genomic information and its effects on human disease. The simplicity of this technology will potentially allow high quality DNA to become the default in all genomics analysis. According to CEO Dr. Kelvin Liu, "No existing method can extract such high quality and high purity DNA in such a short amount of time. This method could significantly improve the quality of long read sequencing data as well as simplify workflow in other methods requiring long DNA such as genome mapping."

In addition to facilitating high molecular weight DNA extraction, Nanobind's unique properties will enable diverse applications in the much larger clinical sample preparation and general life science research markets. Nanobind's nanostructured surface can capture more DNA than any existing silica technology. Conversely, its non-porous structure enables high efficiency extraction of even microvolume samples without the aid of carrier RNA. Furthermore, it is compatible with existing automated instruments and analysis workflows.

As such, this award will also fund the development of Nanobind technologies for automated and microvolume clinical sample preparation. A comprehensive pipeline of chemistries is being developed for efficient extraction of samples including cultured cells and tissues, blood and other body fluids, and pathogens. A previously awarded grant is driving active development on FFPE sample preparation. Future work will entail expansion into broader applications in nucleic acid sample preparation.

This award brings total funding to nearly $4.3M and further catalyzes the development of Circulomics' sample preparation, assay, and single molecule technology portfolio, aimed to streamline both life science research and clinical diagnostics.