Atom Bioworks Leverages Designer-DNA for At-Home, Rapid Coronavirus Antigen Test
Summary
NEW YORK Leveraging synthesized DNA antibodies, Atom Bioworks is developing a test for detecting active coronavirus that would cost a few dollars per kit and could be used at home to help broaden the scale of testing during the pandemic.The test being developed by the Cary, North Carolina-based startup operates by recognizing a SARS-CoV-2 surface epitope pattern using nanoprobes based on the synthesized DNA antibodies, and according to its CEO Sherwood Yao, could become available in about six months for use in point-of-care settings. Eliminating RNA extraction and amplification saves time in conducting the test, and along with other aspects of its design, contributes to the platform providing a result in about two minutes, Yao said.In designing its SARS-CoV-2 antigen test, Atom Bioworks investigators used artificial intelligence to identify surface patterns specific to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and developed a net consisting of DNA antibody probes that folds over the surface of a viral particle. "The US Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday announced an initiative aimed at slowing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 inside the nations nursing home facilities and elsewhere by purchasing Quidel and Becton Dickinson point-of-care diagnostic instruments and antigen tests.Additionally, 3M and researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced Tuesday that they are developing a rapid antigen diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2.Meanwhile, Atom Bio has been awarded a $248,000 grant for the development of its diagnostic platform under the National Science Foundations Rapid Response Research program.To bring its technology to market, the company must prove that the preliminary results it is seeing can be replicated in a larger cohort, and to that end, the firm has just kicked off a clinical validation study to test its platform in about 100 patient samples, Yao said. "Atom Bios DNA probes are designed to work synergistically, and "such multivalent binding can greatly increase the binding affinity, leading to high sensitivity," Mao said.Yao noted he and his colleagues have already used the firms artificial intelligence- and nanotechnology-based approach to develop a five-pointed DNA star structure to test for dengue fever and other mosquito-borne viruses. "In addition to its use for diagnostic testing, the platform also has the potential to be developed as part of a treatment that could immobilize viral particles, according to Atom Bio.