Nanosphere Awarded U.S. Patent for Biobarcode™ Protein Detection Technology
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Nanosphere, Inc. has announced the company's Biobarcode™ technology has been awarded patent number 6,974,669 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Biobarcode™ technology is designed to accomplish for protein detection what PCR has for nucleic acid detection and genomics.
Nanosphere claims that, Biobarcode™ enables the detection of proteins in specimens with sensitivity several orders of magnitude greater than is possible with current technologies including ELISA or mass spectrometry.
Ultra-sensitive protein detection technology will enable development of not only clinical uses for existing biomarkers but also the development of diagnostic tests for previously undetectable biomarkers apparent in many diseases.
This technology will enable earlier detection of cancers (ovarian, prostate, pancreatic, etc.) and neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's, etc.), as well as enable the identification of patients prone to cardiovascular death that are presently missed in diagnosis.
In addition, previously undetected and uncorrelated biomarkers may be developed for both drug development and diagnostic purposes.
"Our focus at Nanosphere is to continuously leverage the power of our nanotechnology platform to bring sophisticated diagnostic and discovery products to the health care and life sciences industries," said William Moffitt, president and CEO, Nanosphere, Inc.
"Today's patent on Biobarcode™ serves to further solidify this core tenant, and enables us to directly address the needs of today, and create the diagnostic and discovery tools of the future."
The biobarcode ™ technology was developed by researchers at Northwestern University, including Dr. Chad Mirkin, professor of chemistry and director of the school's Institute for Nanotechnology.
The company has licensed exclusive rights from Northwestern to existing inventions involving nanoparticle probes and certain other technology developments in the area of biodiagnostics.
The Biobarcode™ patent brings the number of U.S. patents Nanosphere holds to 43 and the company has one hundred applications pending.
