AMIPs™.
- Fast Results
- Detects for Multiple Virus Threats
- Requires No Special Skills
In response to the global pandemic, Sixth Wave Innovations is developing AMIPs™, an advanced Molecular Imprinting Polymer (MIP) system, that will provide a single use, Rapid Virus Test for the selective identification of Covid-19 that can give easy-to-read results within minutes. The flagship technology uses a branch of nanotechnology called Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPS). MIPs are synthetic polymers uniquely designed to capture and detect target materials by templating or cloning the target molecule. These targets can be as small as parts-per-billion.
The Rapid Virus Test would be exposed to a bodily fluid (nasal swab, saliva or breath) of the potential carrier. The test rapidly determines SARS-CoV-2 infection by colorimetric, fluorometric or electrochemical methods. A simple binary (yes/no) test. The Rapid Virus Test would allow for high volume, point-of-use screening in public sector, private industry, hospitals, long-term healthcare facilities, and various forms of public transportation.
Viruses Have Diverse Chemistry which Make Them Unique
Viruses have unique chemical profiles that result in different shape, size, and surface chemistry characteristics that Sixth Wave can leverage:
Sixth Wave utilizes polymerizable ligands specifically to take advantage of the size shape and surface chemistry of a target virus or target class of virus to achieve selectivity and sensitivity in diagnostic applications.
MIPs Have Diverse Size, Shape, and Chemistry that can be Tuned as Needed for a Flexible Platform Design
MIPs use polymer synthesis techniques to create smart materials with high affinity for a target analyte. The high binding affinity has resulted in the term “plastic antibodies” coined by the scientific community. MIP designs for virus detection generally use a surface imprinting technique where the virus is secured to a solid substrate and then stamped into a prepolymer gel before full polymerization is completed. Alternatively, the imprinting virus can be secured to a solid substrate such as a solid particle core and the particle can be coated with several nanometers of polymer to build up a pocket around the virus. After removal of the virus, both techniques result in a complimentary cavity specific for the imprinting virus. MIP design has the ultimate control of size, shape, and chemical functionality to optimize design characteristics to each application.