Fayetteville, Arkansas — Vegrandis, LLC has received a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) award from the National Science Foundation for $100,000 for development of a portable instrument that will measure the levels of indoor allergens.  The instrument will be automated and easy to use so that tests may be conducted in the home or simply by bringing dust samples to a doctor’s office equipped with the instrument.  

According to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, avoidance of allergens is the first step in treatment of diseases related to allergies.  The Vegrandis instrument will fill an important need between simple strip tests and laboratory based enzyme-linked immunosorbant assays (ELISAs).  ELISA tests are currently performed at centralized laboratories and take several weeks for the laboratory to return the results.  Strip tests are rapid and easy to use; however, they do not tell the quantity of allergen present and usually only identify a single allergen.  The ability to measure the amount of allergen present is critical in reducing the exposure to allergens at home or at the workplace. 

The Vegrandis instrument will use a unique patents pending technology exclusively licensed from the University of Arkansas that allows tiny quantities of multiple allergens in dust samples to be measured in less than an hour.  The patient and allergen specialist can then together determine a cleaning strategy to reduce the levels of specific allergens.  Once the cleaning strategy has been implemented, the test can be repeated so that success can be established. 

Dr. Zoraida Aguilar of Vegrandis will lead the development of the new instrument.  Dr. Aguilar remarked, “One of the most frustrating issues for people that suffer from chronic allergies is the inability to track the source and degree of exposure to allergens.  Our instrument will help solve this problem.  Using this technology, an individual will be able to determine the degree of exposure that causes an allergic reaction and can therefore take proactive measures to prevent the reaction.”

Vegrandis strives to develop products that will reduce the burden of human disease and improve quality of life across the globe.  This is the company’s eleventh SBIR/STTR award totaling over $3 million since April, 2003.