Diagnostics

We are developing novel assays for infectious diseases such as HIV and respiratory diseases (pneumonia, tuberculosis and influenza), based on the proprietary Ayanda™ SLIC Platform.

The Ayanda™ SLIC Platform under development consists of a bioelectronics reader instrument for device control/data processing and disposable microplates that incorporate the Synthetic Ligand-gated Ion Channel (SLIC) detection nanotechnology. Key features of this platform will include:

• Rapid and easy to use.
• Low-cost - price target that should be accessible also to developing countries.
• Adaptable to both low and high volume testing applications.
• Initial usage is intended primarily for small testing centres (point-of-care centres).
For HIV, Ayanda is developing an ultra sensitive test for viral load and neonatal testing. For respiratory diseases, we are developing novel molecular tests for pneumonia, tuberculosis and influenza through an EU-FP6 grant (Project No: 513771 2004-2007, Title: SLIC-Biosensors in Molecular Diagnostics: Nanotechnology for the Analysis of species-specific Microbial Transcripts).

Ayanda™ SLIC Platform

The central component of this platform is the Synthetic Ligand-gated Ion Channel (SLIC™) construct which is immobilized in a lipid-based matrix. The SLIC™ system exploits the high efficiency of ligand-receptor interactions for the purpose of capturing a selected biomolecule from the analyte and is detected via an electrochemical scheme. This nanotechnology overcomes various key problems and provides the following benefits:
• No sample labelling required => eliminates the potential for artefacts arising from alteration of native protein function.
• Well-defined, biofriendly surface chemistry => avoids non-specific adsorption of protein on non-capture sites.
• Ultrasensitive detection => potential to detect a few to even single biomolecules without any amplification steps.
  
  

Selected References