Prognosis and Diagnosis of Protein Misfolding Diseases by Seeded Aggregation in Microspheres

There is currently no early detection system for neurological protein misfolding disorders (such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases) that would satisfy the demands for rapid, quantitative, flexible, and reproducible assays to study amyloidogenesis in biological samples. We will explore the potential of aggregation assays in microdroplets that are formed in microfluidic devices. We have found that the readout of this assay reflects the disease progression, when samples of Drosophila fruit fly brains and mouse brain and serum are analysed. We will use this PoC project explore the utility of this technology to report on aggregation of amyloid precursors in human biological samples, to test whether the potential of this technology extends to patients diagnosis and prognosis. Such data would resolve the question whether our early diagnosis system is immediately useful in a medical context and strengthen the case for venture capital funding.