When labs collect blood and saliva for DNA samples, they usually collect way more than they actually need. Technicians go through a lot of hassle to obtain samples only to throw out about 90 percent of what they collect.
But BioSamPle Solutions, a company in the process of moving to Bethlehem from Piscataway, N.J., is developing a method of collecting just 5 microliters, which is enough to extract DNA or RNA from a biological sample. Chiu Chau of BioSamPle says his company has also found a way to extract enough nanograms of DNA for labs to analyze. That’s a big deal, considering the fact that two people could have very different numbers of nanograms in 5 microliters of saliva or blood.
BioSamPle’s technology is called the BioCookie. Chau won’t detail exactly how it works but allows that it looks sort of like a cookie you’d eat. Regardless, the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania saw fit to invest $70,000 in BioSamPle so it could develop and market the BioCookie.
Chau says the technology was developed primarily to collect DNA and RNA for medical purposes. However, the company’s in discussions about it being used to collect samples at crime scenes as a way of reducing DNA contamination.
Source: Chiu Chau, BioSamPle Solutions
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen