Company profile: QuantuMDx group limited

QuantuMDx Group Ltd (QMDx) is a group of companies based in the International Centre for Life, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. The Group owns the founding patent and the exclusive worldwide license for, among others, the use of nanowires and nanotubes in DNA detection. It has further developed a patent estate around the functionalization of nanowires for DNA detection, and is working with commercial partners globally to produce the Q-POC™, a handheld point-of-care genetic testing device. This novel lab-on-a-chip technology integrates and automates the sample-to-result genetic testing process in a single microfluidic channel, incorporating novel lysis technologies, the filtration of cellular constituents to achieve DNA extraction and fractionation, a rapid, thermal PCR system, and nanowires functionalized with nucleic acid probes to capture targeted sequences of genetic material. The device further makes use of novel chemistries to boost the charge of nucleotides binding to the isolated material, increasing the sensitivity and read length of the device and making it capable of robust SNP and pathogen detection. Complete with a sophisticated software package, the Q-POC™ can detect binding events through changes in resistance and effectively convert genetic code into binary code, providing a simple display of the results, complete with treatment options. The competitive advantages of this system are the sensitivity and specificity of the nanowire detection system, the extremely low cost profile of the technology, and the speed of the process, which will allow the sample-to-result detection of targeted genetic material in less than 15 min.