Our custom Optimer® expertise tailored for your solution
We work to deliver custom Optimer® binders that enable your project and can scale with you from conception to commercialization. Explore how we’ve worked with other industry partners to enable optimized solutions to accelerate their pipelines.
Case study 1 – Highly sensitive pathogen detection in national wastewater systems with Optimer®
Case study 2 – Optimer®-enabled delivery of therapeutic cargo to a specific hepatic cell population
Highly sensitive pathogen detection in national wastewater systems with Optimer®
Customer need: To enable rapid pandemic responses and ongoing continuous monitoring our partner required affinity ligands selective for SARS-CoV-2 to enable sensitive biosensor detection of the virus in wastewater systems
Aptamer Group approach: Optimer binders were developed to SARS-CoV-2 in 17 days and sent to the customer for evaluation on their biosensor platform. Trials in parallel with alternative affinity ligands showed Optimer technology yielded the highest sensitivity for SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater analysis, with detection at fg levels in wastewater. Our ongoing validation showed the ability to detect all World Health Organisation designated SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern using the single Optimer binder.
Customer benefit: Rapid development enabled pandemic responsiveness to detect SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. High sensitivity of the Optimer binders enabled reduced binder levels to be used on the biosensor surface for increased cost efficiencies. Ongoing validation ensured that the wastewater monitoring system was able to detect all emerging variants for effective, continuous monitoring. This Optimer®-enabled detection system has been installed at six separate sites within the UK wastewater system for continuous pathogen monitoring.
Optimer®-enabled delivery of therapeutic cargo to a specific hepatic cell population
Customer need: Challenges with the targeted delivery and internalisation of oligonucleotide therapeutics to specific liver cells meant our partner required Optimer® delivery vehicles to increase the effectiveness of this potential new therapeutic.
Aptamer Group approach: Working with our partner we developed Optimer® binders that are highly selective to the required population of liver cells. This was performed using a hypothesis-free approach, without a priori knowledge of specific biomarkers. Optimer® discovery was driven by phenotypic differences between the target liver cell population and negative control cell populations to identify Optimer delivery vehicles that could support targeted gene therapy approaches.
Fluorescence microscopy analysis demonstrates selective targeting of the Optimer® delivery vehicles to the intended primary liver cell population with no targeting to alternative primary hepatic cell populations.
Customer benefit: The developed Optimer delivery vehicle was highly selective for the required primary liver cell population. Simple conjugation enables controlled Optimer-therapeutic cargo ratios, while the Optimer-conjugate improved targeted delivery and internalisation of the therapeutic oligonucleotide.
