BioNanomatrix’s pioneering technology enables nanoscale identification and analysis of genomic DNA, delivering single-molecule and single-cell sensitivity in a massively parallel format. The company's patented analytic platform based on this technology has the potential to provide rapid, comprehensive and cost effective ultra-high resolution analyses of genomic, epigenomic and proteomic information.
BioNanomatrix’s technology can detect and identify individual long strands of DNA, making it possible to survey the DNA of the entire genome in its native state, in context and without the need for amplification, in contrast to current technologies that work by randomly analyzing short fragments of DNA.
The BioNanomatrix platform can survey the genome holistically, without the need to reconstruct a “big picture” version from millions of separate DNA fragments. This is a radical difference from other genomic analysis platforms—working with the BioNanomatrix system is like assembling a complicated jigsaw puzzle with the help of a picture of the completed puzzle, rather than having to complete the task by relying on millions of randomly scattered puzzle pieces.
Key to its revolutionary technology is BioNanomatrix’s patented nanochannel array approach.
- These tiny nanoscale channels are incorporated in a nanochip fluidics device. The nanodevice is designed to function like tollbooths on a highway, naturally separating, uncoiling and directing each DNA strand to flow through the chip into the nanochannels in a linear fashion, one long strand of DNA at a time, where they can be easily assessed for the information of interest.
- This approach allows the identification and analysis of the thousands to millions of base pairs comprising the DNA, just as a tollbooth facilitates the separate identification of the millions of individual vehicles that travel along a highway.
- The DNA can also be imaged at high resolution to enable the detection of fluorescently tagged features and to provide information on the molecular organization of the genetic information.
The design of the nanochip device makes it possible to conduct millions of these analyses simultaneously, in a massively parallel fashion. The combination of these unique features represents a major breakthrough to current approaches to genetic analysis. It enables BioNanomatrix to deliver highly accurate and informative genetic analyses in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost of existing technologies.
Patents
BioNanomatrix has licensed exclusive rights to its core technologies, which were originally developed at Princeton University. The nanochannel array technology being developed at BioNanomatrix is protected under one issued U.S. patent and additional patents are pending.
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