Analiza, Inc.

Other

The Uab Research Foundation

Cleveland Diagnostics, Inc.

Arnon Chait

Boris Y Zaslavsky

Alan Joseph Bauer

Pavel Idelevich

Alexander I Belgovskiy

Lawrence James DeLucas

Brad Stoops

Paul David Jackson

Alan Bauer

Certain aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to systems and methods for determining viruses such as coronaviruses. For instance, some aspects are directed to systems and methods for determining viruses using a partitioning system. Within the partitioning system, free RNA or other nucleic acids may preferentially partition into one phase, while intact viruses may be present in the other phase or in both phases. Accordingly, in some cases, free RNA or other nucleic acids may be preferentially removed, e.g., as compared to intact RNA or other nucleic acids present within a virus. In some cases, the phase containing intact viruses can be determined to determine the infectiousness, e.g., of a sample arising from a subject. This may be useful, for example, for distinguishing subjects who are capable of spreading an infection from those who are not infectious.

RNA separation and related techniques for determining viruses such as coronaviruses

Certain aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to systems and methods for determining viruses. For instance, some aspects are directed to systems and methods for determining viruses using a partitioning system. Within the partitioning system, the virus may partition into one or more phases. In some cases, a virus-binding moiety facilitates partitioning of the virus. The phases may be assayed to determine the virus based on, e.g., quantitative or qualitative assessments of the distribution of virus-binding and/or signaling moieties. The virus-binding moiety may be attached to particles that may form a complex around a virus. The complex may be detectable without a signaling moiety (e.g., as a color change) in some embodiments. In some cases, more than one virus may be determined. For example, a virus-binding moiety may substantially alter the partitioning behavior of one virus or complex, relative to another, by being selective for the first virus.

Systems and methods for determining viruses such as coronaviruses

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, generally relates to methods and devices for determining the health status of a subject, e.g., whether the subject has a disease or other condition. In some embodiments, a plurality or mixture of species may be differentially solubilized in a single two-phase aqueous system, or other multi-phase aqueous system. The nature or degree of the solubilization of the species may be used to determine the health status of a subject. For example, some embodiments are directed to devices and methods for determining a disease or other condition as a function of the changes to the structure of two or more species. The species may be selected based on their differential solubility behavior in a two-phase or other multi-phase aqueous system. Preferential enrichment of the species concentrations in one of the phases, and/or the ratios of species in the phases may be determined, and in some cases compared to their respective values for healthy and/or diseased subjects to determine the health status of the subject.

Methods and devices for analyzing species to determine diseases

The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for partitioning species. In some embodiments, such systems can be used for determining one or more types of cancer. For example, certain aspects are generally directed to aqueous multiphase partitioning systems that can be used, for example, for distinguishing between different types of cancers, diagnosing subjects with cancer, or the like. In some cases, such systems can be identified using solvent properties such as the solvent dipolarity/polarizability difference (&#x394;&#x3c0;*), the solvent hydrogen bond donor acidity difference (&#x394;&#x3b1;), the solvent hydrogen bond acceptor basicity difference (&#x394;&#x3b2;), and the electrostatic property difference (c) between two phases of the partitioning system. These may be within certain ranges in accordance with various embodiments. Additionally, these ranges can be precisely tuned by controlling the compositions of the phases of the partitioning system to produce novel partitioning systems that are unexpectedly efficient at distinguishing between even relatively minor structural changes of proteins or other species, which accordingly can be used to distinguishing different types of cancers, or for other applications.

Partitioning systems and methods for determining multiple types of cancers

The present invention generally provides systems and methods for the detection, identification, or characterization of differences between properties or behavior of corresponding species in two or more mixtures comprised of molecules, including biomolecules and/or molecules able to interact with biomolecules, using techniques such as partitioning. The experimental conditions established as distinguishing between the mixtures of the molecules using the systems and methods of the invention can also be used, in some cases, for further fractionation and/or characterization of the biomolecules and/or other molecules, using techniques such as single-step or multiple-step extraction, and/or by liquid-liquid partition chromatography. The methods could also be used for discovering and identifying markers associated with specific diagnostics, and can be used for screening for such markers once discovered and identified during diagnostics screening.

Systems and methods for characterization of molecules

Some embodiments of the present invention generally relate to devices and methods for determining and/or isolating cells. For example, one aspect is generally directed to methods and devices for detecting, identifying, counting, and/or potentially sorting cells of interest in blood or other biological sample. In some embodiments, blood samples (or other biological fluids) may be treated with signaling entities, such as pH-sensitive entities, that change color or otherwise produce a signal in suitable internal environments. For example, certain cells, such as cancer or fetal cells, may have differences in intracellular pH compared to other cells, which can be detected using pH-sensitive entities. In certain embodiments, the cells may be sorted based on such signaling entities; for example, illumination of cells in a suitable machine for sorting cells (e.g., using fluorescent light) may allow determination of the cells, which may also be recovered or isolated for further manipulation in some cases.

Devices and methods for determining and/or isolating cells such as circulating cancer or fetal cells

The present invention generally relates to devices and methods for determining and/or isolating cells. One aspect is generally directed to methods and devices for detecting, identifying, counting, and/or potentially sorting cells of interest in blood or other biological sample. In some embodiments, blood samples (or other biological fluids) may be treated with signaling entities, such as pH-sensitive entities, that change color or otherwise produce a signal in suitable internal environments. For example, certain cells, such as cancer or fetal cells, may have differences in intracellular pH compared to other cells, which can be detected using pH-sensitive entities. In certain embodiments, the cells may be sorted based on such signaling entities; for example, illumination of cells in a suitable machine for sorting cells (e.g., using fluorescent light) may allow determination of the cells, which may also be recovered or isolated for further manipulation in some cases.

Devices and methods for determining and/or isolating circulating cancer cells

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to methods and devices for determining a disease state in a patient. In some embodiments, human serum albumin may be analyzed for associated molecules, wherein the associated molecules are related to a disease such as cancer. Certain aspects of the invention are generally directed to devices and methods for determining a disease state as a function of the three-dimensional structure of a blood protein, human serum albumin (HSA) or its complex with other ligands, e.g., due to binding to disease-specific ligands. HSA interacts with biomolecules associated with a disease presence, and liganded HSA may differentially partition between aqueous phases of a predetermined partitioning system, wherein the partitioning behavior differs between HSA from healthy individuals and HSA from people harboring the predetermined disease, such as breast cancer.

Methods and devices for determining a disease state

A method of determining the solubility of a compound in a selected solvent is provided that does not require determination of, or use of, standards having known concentrations of the compound. In one aspect, the method can include preparation of a mixture where not all of a compound is dissolved in the provided solvent, separating undissolved compound from the solvent, and direct determination of the amount of the compound dissolved in the solvent. Methods adapted for use include those where a multiplicity of compounds or solvents are tested in parallel. Devices adapted for these methods are also provided by the present disclosure.

Method for measuring solubility

The present invention is generally related to the separation, fractionation, and/or characterization of molecules and/or biomolecules in one or more mixtures. After fractionation, different phases of a partitioning system can be analyzed via an analytical technique such as spectral analysis, chromatography, or the like, to produce a spectrum or other symbolic representation of the species after fractionation, and the spectra of the various fractions/phases compared to define a comparative spectrum as a marker or otherwise providing information about the sample, including such information that is independent of the original level of abundance of the molecules in the mixture. Comparative spectra of various samples can be compared to each other and/or to controls or reference spectra and/or comparative spectra to determine a variety of information. In some embodiments, the methods can be used for discovering and/or identifying patterns in a mixture of species and/or corresponding patterns of species in a second mixture, where each mixture of species originates from biological systems with different physiological conditions as markers associated with specific diagnostics, and can be used for screening for such markers once discovered and identified during diagnostics screening.

Growing community of inventors

Bay Village, OH, United States of America

Arnon Chait