MANASSAS, Va., April 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Ceres Nanosciences (Ceres), a privately held firm that makes modern merchandise to enhance diagnostic testing, is saying at this time that it has been awarded a contract from the Nationwide Institutes of Well being (NIH) Fast Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADxSM) Initiative for $8.2 million to assist the event and implementation of wastewater-based surveillance methods for COVID-19 powered by the Nanotrap® particle expertise in a community of websites with an emphasis on underserved and weak populations.
Wastewater surveillance will help communities monitor spatial and temporal developments in SARS-CoV-2 an infection at a inhabitants stage, however widespread implementation has been stymied by the shortage of a delicate, fast, high-throughput viral focus technique. Nanotrap® Magnetic Virus Particles handle this want by capturing and concentrating virus immediately from uncooked sewage previous to RNA extraction and detection and might be readily tailored for small-scale in addition to large-scale surveillance methods.
Ceres will work intently with a multidisciplinary staff of scientists at Emory College to develop and implement a wastewater-based COVID-19 surveillance framework within the metro-Atlanta space with a concentrate on use instances for underserved and weak populations, akin to correctional services, low-income neighborhoods, and long-term care services.
“This collaboration between Ceres and Emory will generate sturdy proof to assist the CDC’s goal of creating a nationwide wastewater surveillance system that meets the knowledge wants of metropolis, county, and state choice makers to successfully reply to the COVID-19 pandemic throughout a number of use instances in underserved group settings,” stated Christine Moe, Eugene J. Gangarosa Chair in Protected Water and Sanitation on the Rollins Faculty of Public Well being at Emory College.
In parallel, Ceres shall be figuring out and launching a community of facilities of excellence for high-throughput wastewater-based COVID-19 surveillance.
“Researchers from the College of California San Diego (UCSD) just lately demonstrated a Nanotrap® particle high-throughput technique for wastewater surveillance that may course of greater than 100 samples in a day with a capability to detect 1 asymptomatic contaminated particular person in a constructing with 415 residents,” stated Ben Lepene, CTO of Ceres Nanosciences. “We’re very excited to determine further websites across the nation to implement comparable approaches.”
This award builds on the $6.57 million RADxSM initiative award that Ceres obtained in 2020 to extend the manufacturing capability of Ceres’ Nanotrap® Magnetic Virus Particles. Nanotrap® Magnetic Virus Particles enhance diagnostic testing for respiratory viruses by eliminating the necessity for RNA extraction kits, decreasing pattern processing time, and enhancing the sensitivity of the downstream diagnostic assays in point-of-care settings and high-throughput laboratories.
This undertaking has been funded partly by the NIH Fast Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADxSM) initiative with federal funds from the Nationwide Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, Nationwide Institutes of Well being. The present contract is funded from the Public Well being and Social Companies Emergency Fund via the Biomedical Superior Analysis and Growth Authority, HHS Workplace of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Division of Well being and Human Companies, underneath Contract No. 75N92020C00034.
About Ceres Nanosciences, Inc.
Ceres Nanosciences is a privately held firm, positioned in Prince William County, Virginia, centered on incorporating its novel Nanotrap® particle expertise into a spread of diagnostic and analysis merchandise and workflows. The Nanotrap® particle expertise can enhance diagnostic testing by capturing, concentrating, and preserving low abundance analytes from organic samples. The Nanotrap® particle expertise was developed with assist from the Nationwide Institutes of Well being, the Protection Superior Analysis Initiatives Company, the Invoice and Melinda Gates Basis, Schmidt Futures, the Protection Menace Discount Company, and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Study extra, together with how Ceres is partnering with main life science, bio-pharmaceutical, and diagnostic firms at www.ceresnano.com .
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