Summary:
UCLA Researchers in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering have developed an automated, algorithm-driven nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) method that is easy to manufacture, distribute, and yields accurate results with reduced demand of testing reagents.
Background:
Major epidemics over the last two decades have emerged with alarming regularity. Accordingly, increasing our global viral diagnostic and surveillance testing capabilities are paramount to mitigating and minimizing the next pandemic. Among current testing options are nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), antigen, and antibody tests. NAATs are considered the gold standard due to their superior sensitivity, specificity, and ability for rapid deployment without the need to generate specific diagnostic antibodies. However, performing NAATs at large scales require accessible automated testing platforms that are required to analyze samples with high throughput and fast turnaround times. When most tests are expected to be negative (which is the case with mass community testing), strategic pooling of samples is expected to dramatically reduce resource utilization. Current automated NAAT-based testing platforms are bulky, expensive, waste large amounts of reagent, and are currently restricted to centralized laboratory settings. The ability for flexible testing workflows dictated by adaptive pooling algorithms (e.g. viral prevalence-based) to maximize screening times, efficiency, and cost are drastically needed.
Innovation:
Professor Emamminejad and co-workers have developed an automated, pooled-testing NAAT-based platform that performs programmable liquid handling and bioanalytical operations within flexible and parallel workflows. Utilizing a swarm of individually-addressable, millimeter-scale magnets as mobile robotic agents, this platform can manipulate magnetic liquid droplets (i.e. testing reagents) with high precision and robustness. These magnetic robot agents are paired with an algorithm that determines the optimal testing mode and guides operational workflow using a square matrix pooling scheme. Combined, this seamless integration of fluidware, hardware, and software allows for programmable and streamlined droplet-based operations and delivers a versatile, automated NAAT-centered workflow within a compact platform. When compared to traditional NAAT testing for SARS-CoV-2 virus in clinical samples, the clinical results completely matched those produced by this method. Additionally, this system could lead to a 10-300-fold reduction in reagent cost, making mass-testing cheaper, simpler, and quicker.
Potential Applications:
• Viral infection testing
• Pandemic response
• High-throughput testing capabilities
Advantages:
• High-throughput testing
• High accuracy
• Cheaper than traditional testing
• Algorithm-driven
Development to Date:
Demonstrated successful application of invention.
Related Papers:
Lin, H., Yu, W., A. Sabet, K. et al. Ferrobotic swarms enable accessible and adaptable automated viral testing. Nature 611, 570–577 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05408-3
Supplementary Video 1: Automated ferrobotic individual testing. The ferrobot delivers an automated SARS-CoV-2 RT-LAMP assay workflow.
Supplementary Video 2: Automated ferrobotic multiplexed testing. The ferrobot delivers an automated multiplexed assay workflow.
Supplementary Video 3: Automated ferrobotic square-matrix pooling. A swarm of ferrobots perform 334 lab-equivalent operations (3265 actuations) to deliver square-matrix (42) pooling.
Supplementary Video 4: Demonstration of a battery-operated handheld ferrobotic unit. Ferro-droplets are actuated by underlying moving ferrobots on a handheld ferrobotic unit, which is powered by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and controlled by a microcontroller (batteries and microcontroller components are integrated on the unit’s backside).
Reference:
UCLA Case No. 2023-021
Lead Inventors:
Sam Emaminejad; Dino Di Carlo