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
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.
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.
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.
| • 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 |