Descripción del proyecto
Espectroscopia Raman mejorada en superficie para el tratamiento con antibióticos de pacientes con infecciones
Las infecciones constituyen una causa importante de mortalidad hospitalaria en Europa. En aproximadamente el 50 % de los casos de infección, la dosificación de los antibióticos es inadecuada, lo que da lugar a malos desenlaces clínicos debido al aumento de los acontecimientos adversos, la toxicidad y la resistencia a los antibióticos. La monitorización terapéutica de fármacos (MTF) promete mejorar considerablemente la dosificación de antibióticos, pero los procedimientos actuales se ven obstaculizados por su lentitud, su coste y su falta de adaptabilidad. El equipo del proyecto ACU-SERS, financiado por el Consejo Europeo de Innovación, propone un sistema totalmente automatizado de pretratamiento de muestras biológicas, separación de analitos y análisis, capaz de proporcionar un nivel cuantitativo del fármaco antibiótico en solo quince minutos. Este sistema integra la microfluídica centrífuga con la tecnología de chip de espectroscopia Raman mejorada en superficie (SERS, por sus siglas en inglés), en un dispositivo de sobremesa fácil de usar. En el proyecto se pretende validar la escalabilidad, el potencial comercial y sentar las bases para poner en marcha una empresa derivada.
Objetivo
Sepsis is a leading cause of death in hospitals resulting in ~700k deaths in Europe each year. Patients urgently require critical care and are admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), where they are treated with antibiotics. However, antibiotic dosing is inappropriate in ~50% of sepsis patients, causing poor clinical outcomes due to increased adverse events, (neuro)toxicity and contributing to antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic dosing can be significantly improved through therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), but current workflows for drug quantification in clinics and ICU are slow, expensive, and inflexible, which have greatly limited TDM implementation. We develop ACU-SERS: a first-in-class, highly flexible, fast, and cost-effective system that fully automates the biological sample pre-treatment, analyte separation and analysis and provides a quantitative antibiotic drug level concentration in ~15 minutes. ACU-SERS' breakthrough technology combines centrifugal microfluidics with an integrated surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) chip to perform label-free, rapid detection and quantification in an easy-to-use benchtop device. Based on the H2020 SERSing project, this project builds on developing the Raman-based analyser device and the optimal cartridge, as well as validating the scalability of the product and the system with clinical samples. From the commercial side, we will validate the commercial potential of our solution, found a spin-off company to commercialize the technology, and make it investment-ready. We envision that the spin-off will generate early revenues from direct sales in our initial target markets within the EU. After demonstrating market traction, we will seek to close a global distribution deal with a large diagnostics company for the TDM antibiotic market. Revenues will be reinvested to adapt ACU-SERS for TDM applications in other potential markets, such as antiepileptics, immunosuppressants and applications in pharmaceutical research.
Ámbito científico
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesclassical mechanicsfluid mechanicsmicrofluidics
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinecritical care medicine
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsantibiotics
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug resistanceantibiotic resistance
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsspectroscopy
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
- HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC) Main Programme
Convocatoria de propuestas
HORIZON-EIC-2023-TRANSITION-01
Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoriaRégimen de financiación
HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC GrantsCoordinador
2800 Kongens Lyngby
Dinamarca