Santa Cruz Startup Pinpoint 30-Second C19 Test
Pinpoint is one of 5 new Santa Cruz biotech companies who will present at the Santa Cruz New Tech on August 5. Stay tuned for tickets and details.
To support universal Covid-19 testing, solutions are needed that are rapid, accurate, affordable and simple to use.
Santa Cruz startup Pinpoint Science has developed a 30-second, highly sensitive nanosensor-based antigen test to rapidly screen for Covid-19 infection. Accurate, affordable and easy to use, Pinpoint's Covid-19 test detects the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein from nasal swab and saliva samples. Results are displayed in 30 seconds, while de-identified data can be automatically uploaded for public health surveillance.
Pinpoint’s innovative nanosensor technology was adapted from pioneering work at UC Santa Cruz by biomolecular engineering professor Nader Pourmand, Pinpoint’s Chief Scientist. Pinpoint’s platform does direct, label-free quantitative electrical detection of specific target molecules, at levels below 10 femtograms/mL (about 10,000 times more sensitive than lateral flow assays). This makes the Covid-19 antigen test accurate enough to detect even asymptomatic and presymptomatic cases. In addition to speed and sensitivity, our direct, label-free electrical detection method is highly specific, distinguishing SARS-CoV-2 from influenza, common coronaviruses, and other respiratory pathogens. This specificity is based on the selectivity of our molecular probes, combined with the specific binding potential of individual probe-target pairs.
Pinpoint’s nanosensor technology uses a novel bioelectronic method to detect and quantify specific molecules in any biofluid. Binding of probe and target molecules near the nanopore opening alters the physical and electrical characteristics of the nanopore, which changes the current passing through the pore; the magnitude of this change measures the concentration of the target analyte within seconds. Our Covid-19 assay utilizes highly specific synthetic probes (aptamers) and/or monoclonal antibodies, which are used to functionalize the nanosensor chip and bind the target SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein in solution. Binding between a particular probe-target pair occurs at a particular electrical potential, providing additional specificity to the assay.
This new technology eliminates the need for expensive laboratory equipment and technicians, not to mention the delays in reporting results and crippling supply chain risks which have plagued PCR testing. Likewise, our platform overcomes the inaccuracy which limits the utility of lateral flow serology assays. Pinpoint’s Covid-19 test requires no laboratory, technicians, sample purification, or amplification (specimens are diluted in buffer; no other sample prep is required). The assay’s disposable cartridges, low-cost reader, and mobile app are user-friendly, simple enough to be used properly by untrained consumers or healthcare workers, making it suitable for triage, mass screening, surveillance testing, and home self-testing.
Pinpoint Science has assembled an extraordinary interdisciplinary team of research scientists and engineers, pioneers of innovation in their respective fields, brought together to address global health challenges. Nurtured in the innovative and collaborative research community in the SF Bay Area, Pinpoint reflects the diverse disciplines and backgrounds of the region. Our team has decades of expertise and deep experience spanning key fields: bioengineering, virology, organic chemistry, diagnostic development and deployment, global health, pandemic preparedness, software architecture and development, real-time applications, electrical engineering, device design, cybersecurity, compliance and regulatory strategy, and product development. We draw on the expertise of scientific advisors and collaborators from leading universities and institutes, in the Bay Area and across the world.
To realize the promise of our breakthrough nanosensor technology, we have teamed up with leading semiconductor firm Analog Devices, Inc. to fabricate our chips, cartridges and readers, and to scale up production to support universal Covid-19 testing in the U.S. and globally. We are less than three months from a clinically validated prototype of our Covid-19 antigen test, ready for submission to FDA for Emergency Use Authorization. Pinpoint’s platform will also be adapted for a quantitative Covid-19 antibody titer test for fingerprick, and a quantitative assay for IL-6 (predicts which Covid-19 patients are likely to suffer respiratory failure). With further development, the multiplex capability of our multi-channel chip and reader will be harnessed for detection of Covid-19, prognostic biomarkers, influenza and other respiratory pathogens simultaneously.
Pinpoint proposes to provide our Covid-19 tests at cost to public health agencies during this pandemic emergency. Pinpoint's platform offers a scalable, affordable solution to test everyone, anywhere, as often as needed. Containing this pandemic, contact tracing, mass screening, restoring economic activity - this all depends on our ability to rapidly and accurately know who is infected, who was infected, and where the virus has spread.
