This technology is an in vitro platform of genetically engineered live yeasts for rapid and sensitive detection of pathogens, including fungal species, viruses, and protein variants.
Detection of pathogens is critical for disease diagnosis, outbreak control, and therapeutic monitoring. Current strategies, including culture-based methods, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and sequencing, are often time-consuming and labor-intensive. Additionally, assays for detecting protein variants lack the sensitivity to distinguish single-amino-acid differences, limiting their effectiveness in detecting subtle mutations.
This technology utilizes genetically engineered live yeast to detect pathogens, including fungal species, viruses, and protein variants, by emitting visually colored or fluorescent signals. The yeast platform can be modified to express specific receptors that interact with pathogens in biological samples with high sensitivity. Fluorescence- or pigment-based readouts provide a rapid and straightforward evaluation. Additionally, the live yeast biosensors can be lyophilized for easy storage and distribution.
This technology has been validated with fungal samples.
Patent Pending (US20240368664)
IR CU21127, CU21270, CU22208
Licensing Contact: Joan Martinez