The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems awarded a $399,541 Project Grant to the Trustees of Dartmouth College to develop a high-throughput, label-free, and portable sensor that can quantitatively detect multiple illicit drugs including opioids, cocaine, psychostimulants, and methadone in liquid samples such as biofluids. The project aims to create a silver or gold nanoparticle-decorated zinc oxide nanorod coated silica nanofiber matrix...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), provides $586,936 to Vitan-Biotech LLC, a minority-owned biotechnology company, to develop a low-cost, disposable urine test strip for the rapid quantification of substance use disorder (SUD) medication drugs and their metabolites. The goal is to create a point-of-use diagnostic tool that can enable monitoring of medication compliance and metabolism for...
This federal Project Grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), provides $1,576,513 to Instanosis Inc., a woman-owned small business, to develop a highly sensitive, rapid, and instrument-free oral fluid fentanyl test. The goal is to create the first FDA-cleared oral fluid fentanyl test with a 10-fold more sensitive diagnostic cutoff, 4-fold faster readout time, and 10-fold lower sample volume compared to...
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded a $386,452 Project Grant (CFDA 93.279: Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs) to Electronic Biosciences, Inc., a small biotechnology company in San Diego, California. The grant, with a project period from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026, is for the development of a rapid fingerstick diagnostic test for opioid and stimulant use disorders. This work aims to address the escalating public health crisis of opioid and stimulant overdoses in the...
This federal Project Grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279) provides $643,948 to Labsys LLC, a for-profit limited liability company, to develop a wearable continuous drug monitoring device for opioid use disorders (CDM-MOUD). The device is designed as a low-cost, painless patch that can monitor medication levels in the interstitial fluid, providing real-time insights into the effectiveness of opioid use...
This federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program provides $649,585 to Auburn University to develop an integrated and miniaturized opioid sensor system. The project aims to address the opioid crisis through innovative, cost-efficient, and portable opioid biosensors that can enable real-time, accurate detection and monitoring. The interdisciplinary team is working to deliver solutions for law...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279) provides $645,594 to Ricovr Healthcare Inc. to develop a point-of-need (PON) device called XALIVA for accurate and destigmatized detection of recent cannabis use. The overall goal is to create an effective and scalable monitoring device to decouple the stigma associated with cannabis use disorder and cannabis consumption, while enhancing public safety. The...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), provides $591,752 to Oprems LLC to develop and assess a digital platform for screening patients prescribed opioid medications to identify risk of opioid misuse and overdose. The project aims to integrate Oprems' existing paper-based screening tools into a tablet-based digital platform to improve the consistency and effectiveness of opioid risk screening and...
The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded a $800,000 Cooperative Agreement grant under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279) to Biosensics LLC, a digital health technology company, for the development of ODALERT - a wearable device designed to automatically detect and alert users and first responders of potential opioid overdoses. The project aims to complete the development, clinical validation, and regulatory approval process for ODALERT, which uses advanced...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Justice (CFDA 16.560 - National Institute of Justice Research, Evaluation, and Development Project Grants) provides $434,500 to 9 Delta Analytical, LLC to develop two key products: 1) An inexpensive, visually-read testing device that allows rapid identification of fentanyl and other opioids in oral fluid samples, and 2) Environmentally-friendly laboratory confirmation procedures for analyzing the same oral fluid samples. The goal is to...
BENCH-TOP READER AND APTAMER-BASED ASSAY FOR RAPID, HIGH-SENSITIVITY DRUG/OPIATE DETECTION - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT THE UNITED STATES IS EXPERIENCING AN EPIDEMIC OF UNPRECEDENTED SCOPE WITH HEROIN USE RESURGING AND A TROUBLING PERVASIVE INCREASE IN ABUSE OF PRESCRIPTION OPIOIDS SUCH AS FENTANYL, FENTANYL DERIVATIVES, METHADONE, OXYCODONE AND HYDROCODONE. MORE THAN 6 OUT OF 10 DRUG OVERDOSES ARE NOW OPIOID-RELATED, RESULTING IN ~90 DEATHS/DAY AND A MORE THAN $75B/YEAR ECONOMIC IMPACT. ADDITIONALLY, THERE IS A RAPIDLY EXPANDING NEED TO DETECT NUMEROUS OTHER SMALL MOLECULES SUCH AS THERAPEUTIC AGENTS, IN THE HOME OR POTENTIAL WMDS LIKE SARIN AND TOXIC PESTICIDES IN THE REMOTE OR FIELD SETTING. TO DEVELOP A GENERAL PURPOSE TOOL TO ADDRESS SUCH DETECTION, WE PROPOSE TO REFINE OUR COMPENSATED INTERFEROMETRIC READER (CIR) AND FURTHER DEVELOP A UNIQUE AND EFFICIENT, MATRIX INSENSITIVE, ASSAY METHODOLOGY TO ADDRESS THE NEED FOR HIGH SENSITIVITY, RAPID TESTING OF OPIOIDS, THERAPEUTICS AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANTS. OUR EFFORTS WILL PRODUCE A FIRST OF ITS KIND BENCH- TOP (AND FIELD-COMPATIBLE) CIR AND USER-FRIENDLY (TURN-KEY) ASSAY SYSTEM FOR THE DETECTION AND/OR QUANTIFICATION AT NG/ML-PG/ML SENSITIVITY OF A WIDE RANGE OF TARGETS INCLUDING OPIATES, SMALL MOLECULE DRUGS, AND ORGANOPHOSPHORUS PESTICIDES. THE ASSAY BASED ON A NEAR-SURFACE ASSAY (NSA) EMBODIMENT, CONSISTS OF THREE-STEPS; 1) COLLECT SAMPLE (DILUTE IF NEEDED), 2) FILL THE PRE- COATED CAPILLARY AND 3) READ THE 'SAMPLE' WITH CIR. RESULTS FOR DRUG OR METABOLITE DETECTION IN URINE BY CIR IS PREDICTED TO BE 10-1000-FOLD IMPROVEMENT OVER THE BEST LATERAL FLOW TESTS (LFT)1 AND THE CURRENT CUTOFF FOR STANDARD DRUG TESTS. THE NON-INVASIVE, NANOLITER VOLUME, HIGH SPECIFICITY URINE OR BUFFER-DILUENT ASSAYS WILL FACILITATE RAPID FIELD-BASED DETECTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLES, SEIZED ILLICIT NARCOTICS, COUNTERFEIT DRUGS AND ORGANOPHOSPHORUS NERVE AGENTS (OPNA). SIMILAR MINIMALLY INVASIVE ASSAYS ARE FEASIBLE WITH MINUTE AMOUNTS OF FINGER-STICK BLOOD. THE NOVEL METHODOLOGY IS ENABLED BY THE MARRIAGE OF THREE PATENTED TECHNOLOGIES, A MULTIPLEX-SELEX APPROACH FOR APTAMER SELECTION, AN APTAMER-PROBE ASSAY, AND CIR TO QUANTIFY THE TARGET. PHASE I AND PHASE II AIMS PROPOSED HERE ARE DESIGNED TO ENABLE RAPID TRANSLATION/COMMERCIALIZATION OF THE PROPOSED TECHNOLOGY.