Introducing Single MOLecule Tethering (SMOLT)
Amplification-free molecular detection

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Read our paper describing SMOLT in Nature Communications

A New Standard for Sepsis Diagnosis

Rapid Bloodstream Pathogen Identification

Blood culture, a procedure that takes several days, is still the standard to diagnose sepsis patients. As a result, these patients often receive inappropriate or delayed treatment. A new assay based on SMOLT will resolve this problem by providing actionable results in one hour.

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A Revolutionary Detection Approach

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Amplification-free molecular detection

Because SMOLT does not need to amplify nucleic acids before detecting them, it enables entirely new diagnostic possibilities. Scanogen is utilizing SMOLT technology to develop assays that are faster, more sensitive, robust, and cost-effective than available systems.

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SMOLT Technology

Scanogen has developed Single MOLecule Tethering (SMOLT), a revolutionary platform technology for ultra-sensitive and rapid detection of nucleic acids and microorganisms in body fluids.

Read our paper describing SMOLT in Nature Communications

AMPLIFICATION-FREE TESTS. BETTER TESTS

SMOLT enables entirely new diagnostic possibilities because it does not need to amplify nucleic acids before detecting them. Scanogen is utilizing SMOLT technology to develop assays that are faster, more sensitive, robust, and cost-effective than available systems.

SMOLT SINGLE MOLECULE DETECTION

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SMOLT biosensor structure
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Bead tethered by a single DNA Long Probe

The signal of SMOLT is generated by the displacement of micron-size beads tethered by DNA Long-probes that are between 1 and 7 microns long. The molecular extension of thousands of DNA probes is determined with sub-micron precision using a robust, rapid and low-cost optical approach.

SMOLT DIGITAL SIGNAL

The information of bead displacement generates a digital signal based on single-molecule counts. In SMOLT, a single target molecule can mediate the tethering of a bead. The SMOLT signal is generated by counting these tethered beads, which are identified based on their displacement.

THE BIG ADVANTAGES OF SMOLT

• Direct detection in whole blood, saliva, sputum and urine
• Detection of microorganisms at 1 CFU/mL
• Easy to multiplex 10+ targets in a single reaction
• Turnaround-time < 90 minutes
• Simple and safe reagents (no fluorescence, no toxic buffers)
• Cost-efficient reagents and instrumentation
• Safe from amplicon contamination
• Safe from polymerase inhibition

The Challenge of Sepsis Diagnosis

• Sepsis is associated with more than 200,000 deaths in the U.S. and 11 million deaths worldwide each year.
• Sepsis patients require immediate treatment. However, they are diagnosed with techniques based on blood culture, a time-consuming process that takes days.
• As a result of this diagnostic delay, about 20% of patients are treated with inappropriate antibiotics while others are missed or receive delayed treatment.

The Solution

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SMOLT-Sepsis-ID

• Results at the point-of-care without the need of blood culture.

• Ultra-sensitive (1 CFU/mL)

• Rapid (60 minutes)

• Broad detection with identification of causative organism in more than 90% of cases.

(Under development)

SCANOGEN NEWS

NEWS

June 28, 2022
Scanogen is granted US patent 11,371,986 which covers a novel method to eliminate background noise in assays based on a solid substrate.
April 19, 2022
Scanogen has received a $3.3 million grant from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to advance the development of its platform for rapid detection of bloodstream infections without the need of blood culture.
September 29, 2020
New Scanogen Study in Nature Communications Outlines Breakthrough Molecular Detection Technology. The novel amplification-free and purification-free approach is being used by the Company to develop a novel diagnostic platform.

Read the press release.
Download the article.

September 9, 2020
Scanogen is granted US patent 10,768,406 which covers the optical system used in SMOLT. The patent claims include an imaging system to determine the position or movement of particles over a large field of view.
July 1, 2020
A team at Scanogen has adapted SMOLT technology for detecting the novel coronavirus genome directly in saliva samples. The study showed a limit of detection of 150 copies per 30 microliters of saliva.
February 7, 2020
Scanogen receives a new grant for $3 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop an assay for rapid detection of fungal bloodstream infections without the need of blood culture.
March 29, 2019
Scanogen expands laboratories by adding adjacent 1,200 sqft. The additional laboratory space will accelerate the development and testing of SMOLT -based assays.
January 15, 2019
Scanogen is granted US patent 10,179,930 which covers Single Molecule Tethering (SMOLT) technology. The patent claims include detection of molecules, such as nucleic acids, proteins and metabolites, using long probes where the long probes can be a variety of polymers, including double-stranded DNA.
August 31, 2018
New studies show that Single Molecule Scanning can detect microorganisms in blood and sputum at concentrations as low as one organism per milliliter of sample.
April 15, 2017
Scanogen receives $600,000 in an SBIR grant Phase I from National Institute of Aging.
February 10, 2017
Scanogen receives a new grant for $3 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop a rapid point-of-care assay for Tuberculosis detection.
July 5, 2016
Scanogen is granted two U.S. patents for inventions that use DNA supercoiling to detect biomolecules. US 9,382,578 describes circular biosensors that compact when target molecules are present in the sample. US 9,382,580 describes Twist-Biosensor, a single molecule approach in which DNA tethered beads are displaced when target molecules are present in the sample.
May 15, 2016
Scanogen receives two SBIR grants, $225,000 from the National Human Genome Research Institute, and $225,000 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
February 1, 2016
Scanogen moves to new facilities. The new space has newly renovated laboratories and offices, with a total area of 4,000 sq ft.
October 1, 2015
Scanogen TB assay is described in the TB Diagnostics Technology and Market Landscape report. “In the context of limited-resource setting TB diagnosis, Single Molecule Scanning may offer important advantages over the available amplification-based molecular platforms.”
July 1, 2015
Scanogen receives $289,322 in phase I SBIR from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
May 15, 2014
Scanogen receives two new SBIR grants, $700,000 from the National Human Genome Research Institute, and $599,760 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

ABOUT SCANOGEN

OVERVIEW

Scanogen is a molecular diagnostic company developing a system to provide rapid and easy access to the biomolecular information of body fluids with the goal of improving health care. The Company has developed Single MOLecule Tethering (SMOLT), a proprietary technology for rapid and ultra-sensitive detection of biomolecules. The Company is using this technology to develop a simple-to-use and sample-to-answer diagnostic platform. Scanogen has received NIH grants totaling more than $20 million to develop its diagnostic assays and is currently focused on developing a suite of point-of-care tests which use rapid assays to diagnose bloodstream infections.

The company is located in Baltimore, Maryland. This location allows for collaboration with Johns Hopkins University and with government agencies in Washington D.C (FDA, NIH, NIST).

Read Scanogen FCOI Policy.