Jun 2 2015
Protea Biosciences Group, Inc. announced today a new, silicon chip technology that enables the rapid identification and quantitation of small molecules in biofluids. The announcement was made at the 63rd American Society of Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, held in St. Louis, MO.
Known as REDIchip™ ("Resonance-Enhanced Desorption Ionization"), the product employs a patented, "nanopost array" (NAPA) nanotechnology invented in the laboratory of Prof. Akos Vertes, PhD., Department of Chemistry, The George Washington University, and exclusively licensed to Protea.
"REDIchip technology will greatly improve a researcher's ability to rapidly detect and quantify small molecules in biofluids, in a contaminant-free environment. This breakthrough is made possible by a highly organized, high density nanopost array design that provides 27 million nanoposts for each two millimeter spot. The chip provides exceptional sensitivity and reproducibility of results," stated Steve Turner, Protea CEO. He added, "We are presenting applications data at this week's ASMS Conference, and plan to commence shipments in Q3 2015."
REDIchip technology was developed by Protea in conjunction with a $14 million DARPA cooperative research agreement led by The George Washington University and including GE Global Research and SRI International. The project goal is to develop new tools to elucidate the mechanism of action of a threat agent, drug, biologic or chemical on living cells within 30 days from exposure. Uncovering the mechanism of action of such agents in 30 days compared to the years currently required will enhance and support the development of effective threat mitigations and countermeasures.
REDIchip is formatted as a disposable, single use, 96 spot, target plate, suitable for simple and complex biological mixtures, and compatible with most standard MALDI-MS instrument systems.