Year: 2006-07

Company: Biohelix

Liaison(s): Bertrand Lemieux

The BioHelix Team Masters Project developed an isothermal fluorometer system to serve as a platform for nucleic acid amplification technologies developed by BioHelix Corporation. The team worked closely with researchers in the KGI Bioengineering and Microfluidics laboratories to build prototype systems incorporating user requirements defined by BioHelix. These requirements included, but were not limited to: ■ thermal stability ■ sensitive, multicolor detection ■ user-friendly software interface The team also generated documentation necessary for the transfer of the system to a cGMP manufacturer, and business analyses of the technology and surrounding technologies generated at KGI. The team is delivering a working prototype to BioHelix at the end of the project, which will be used for in-house assay integration. Throughout the development processes, the team worked to overcome both engineering challenges, such as optical system design and thermal control, and business challenges, such as intellectual property, manufacturing compatibility, and commercial considerations.