SBIR Phase I: Rapid Toxic Alcohols Detection Using On-Chip Biosensor Array for Emergency Care

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project is targeted towards the development of a biosensor array for point-of-care (POCT) detection of toxic alcohols. The sensor arrays would eventually be a part of a fully-disposable, plastic biochip which would be the first ever POCT system for diagnostics of toxic alcohol ingestion. This work will demonstrate the detection of methanol and Ethylene Glycol in the presence of Ethanol. Enzyme biosensors are used because of their specificity to a target - however, enzymes that catalyze alcohols show cross-reactivity to a range of alcohols which has precluded their use to-date. This research proposes a paradigm shift for enzymatic biosensors and to exploit this non-specific response and obtain clinically relevant information by using an array of microfabricated sensors and linear computations to calculate concentrations of toxic alcohols even in the presence of interferants.
Toxic alcohol exposure deaths currently account for the 6th most fatal toxin group. There are also ~70,000 non-fatal toxic alcohol cases annually in the US. Current detection technology is limited to Gas Chromatography, which while very accurate is not easily available and results cannot be generated in a clinically relevant time-frame. There is no POCT system for detection of toxic alcohols and emergency physicians are forced to rely on non-specific physical symptoms for diagnosis. To err on the side of caution, potentially harmful (ethanol therapy) or expensive (Fomipezole) treatments are ordered leading to increased healthcare costs. A reliable and accurate POCT diagnostics of toxic alcohol would significantly improve the quality of care and minimize unnecessary treatments.