conceptual period

Recipient: Technical University of Munich
Funding: GO-Bio initial conceptual phase 2nd round (01/10/2021 to 30/09/2022, EUR 119,998.99) 

The roboticDNA project is developing synthetic nanomachines for biosensor technology. The technology on which the project is based consists of the construction of complex synthetic nanomachines that have emerged from the rapid development of bionanotechnology.

These miniature machines can be constructed in such a way that they interact with individual molecules and interactions between these molecules can be observed and analysed using simple means. The roboticDNA project is developing completely new measurement principles based on this technology. The aim of one of three utilisation ideas is to detect 100-1000 biomarkers simultaneously within a few minutes using one drop of blood.

The focus is on the detection and analysis of proteins, but other classes of molecules can also be analysed. With established methods, these tests take several hours. The second utilisation idea focuses on analysing mixtures of a variety of similar molecules whose composition cannot be determined using established methods. The third utilisation idea concentrates on the characterisation of interactions between molecules that are too weak to be investigated using conventional methods with reasonable effort.

The common goal of these utilisation ideas is to develop a tailored analysis tool for the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. The project enables rapid availability of test results while minimising sample consumption, which is advantageous in the development of new pharmaceuticals, for example. The challenges in COVID-related therapeutics and vaccine development have particularly emphasised the necessity and benefits of rapid development cycles in the past year. The research project thus contributes to sharpening life science commercialisation ideas and verifying their viability in line with the announcement.

feasibility stage

Recipient: Technical University of Munich
Funding: GO-Bio initial feasibility phase 2 (01/10/2022 to 30/09/2024, EUR 599,022.00) 

The global market for point-of-care testing (POCT) amounted to around USD 47 billion in 2021. The expansion of POCT promises better treatment for patients through faster, more personalised and more cost-effective diagnoses.

Many of the biomarkers to be analysed in diagnostics are specific proteins that are often only present in very small quantities in people's blood, for example. Analysing these quantities quickly, robustly and reliably is often associated with high costs. The aim of the roboticDNA-2 project is to develop a platform technology to determine biomarker levels in patient-related laboratory diagnostics in clinics, doctors' surgeries and pharmacies particularly quickly and yet cost-effectively. To do this, the researchers use nanomachines made from DNA that are around a thousand times smaller than the thickness of a human hair. Each of these nanomachines interacts directly with a single biomarker molecule, enabling particularly fast and sensitive measurement results. Particularly small sample quantities, such as a drop of capillary blood from the fingertip, are sufficient.