PLEASANTON, CA /Marketwire/ C3-Jian Inc. (C3) and Matrix Sensors Inc. have announced a collaboration in which engineered peptides from C3 will be used on Matrix Sensors' microchip molecular detector arrays, allowing initial evaluation of a diagnostic assay platform for commercial use.
The use of engineered peptides can act as replacements for antibodies in antibody panel–type assays for specific biomarkers and provides several advantages, including efficiency in production, cost, reliability, and robustness. In addition, a peptide array can alert to the presence of an unknown pathogen and provide a first step toward identification. Matrix Sensors' technology provides an array of mass-sensitive detectors, allowing direct detection of reacting molecules without the complexities typically associated with label-based systems. This provides a path to a simple, dipstick-based diagnostic assay, using a Matrix microchip and a C3 peptide panel.
The combination of these diagnostics and species-specific targeting of antimicrobials, another C3 technology, represents an opportunity for focused treatment. This approach represents a "significant improvement beyond today's current practice of using broad-spectrum antibiotics for bacterial infections," contributing to the emergence of drug-resistant strains. The ultra-high-analyte resolution and accuracy of the Matrix sensors allows attogram (1 quintillionth of a gram) resolution of specific molecules, and is extremely well suited to the application of pathogen identification.
"We are extremely excited by the focus of the joint collaboration," said Wenyuan Shi, PhD, Chief Scientific Advisor at C3, and Professor of Microbiology at the UCLA School of Medicine. "These efforts will allow us to further develop selective, efficacious, and safer treatment modalities for infectious diseases, with easier to use, lower cost, ultra-sensitive, rapid pathogen detection."
About C3
Founded in 2005, C3-Jian Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Los Angeles, CA. The company is developing novel products to diagnose, treat, and prevent human, animal, and plant diseases. The lead compounds are focused on bacterial and fungal infections, especially those occurring on mucosal surfaces and in industrial biofilms.
About Matrix Sensors
Matrix Sensors Inc. provides innovative technologies in the areas of life science bio-molecule and gas sensing measurements. Founded in March 2006, Matrix Sensors' technology "promises to be the first electronic microchip product featuring both ultra-high-analyte resolution and accuracy. The technology achieves attogram resolution of specific molecules of interest.