PNAS Nexus Publishes BreathBiomics

Zeteo Tech is thrilled to announce that its Director of Biomedical Programs’, Dapeng Chen, has had his groundbreaking work published in PNAS Nexus.

Using human exhaled breath for disease diagnosis has long been a dream. Zeteo has made significant strides by developing an advanced breath sampling system and sophisticated assay to measure key host response markers induced by respiratory infections.

In collaboration with JH Medicine, Zeteo has successfully applied its platform in critical care settings for early and rapid LRTI diagnosis. With its simplicity, this platform has the potential to become a point-of-care (POC) tool and could be expanded to other respiratory and lung conditions like COPD, CF, CAP, and asthma.

Diagnosing respiratory infections with breath | EurekAlert!

Breath analysis promises rapid diagnosis of lower respiratory infections (news-medical.net)

Proof-of-concept study shows breath analysis can diagnose respiratory infections (medicalxpress.com)

Zeteo Tech and Texas A&M University Awarded Phase I STTR Grant from the U.S. Department of Defense

Researchers collaborated to develop a prototype for an aerosol particle collector to integrate with microsensors for in-field threat monitoring

 

Sykesville, MD – September 19, 2024 – Zeteo Tech, Inc., the biodefense and medical device company that has developed a revolutionary new class of fieldable biological mass spectrometers and innovative human breath detection technologies, announced that it completed a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program grant alongside Texas A&M University (TAMU, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering) to develop a modular aerosol sampler for microsensors to enable enhanced threat detection at the point of need.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) issued a call for small, low-power, low-cost, networked aerosol collectors that, when integrated with microsensors, can be dispersed over an area for enhanced situational awareness. This would enable warfighters to monitor for threats such as toxic chemicals or pathogens in the field.

To meet this need, Zeteo has developed a modular microsensor that can be paired with TAMU’s wetted wall cyclone (WWC) technology, developed earlier for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Zeteo’s own impactor module. Both technologies can be integrated with a modular microsensor based on the type of collection needed, including liquid, surface deposit, or air concentration. The proposed device would efficiently collect different particle sizes in large air volumes, deliver bioparticles in various liquid volumes while maintaining their culturability and DNA integrity, operate with a suite of potential sample collection fluids, and use components designed to be produced close to the point of need using advanced manufacturing techniques, and operate under the control of non-proprietary code.

“We are excited to have been selected for this award alongside our partners at Texas A&M to help the Department of Defense better protect soldiers in the field from biological and chemical threats,” said Dr. Wayne Bryden, President and Chief Executive Officer of Zeteo Tech. “By offering various sample formats and a modular design approach, our jointly developed solution enables the best technology to be fielded for many different use cases using a single portable device.”

“At Texas A&M we are very happy to be part of the Zeteo-Tech team. Joining this project is an exciting opportunity, and we look forward to working together and contributing to our shared goals for increased public safety,” said Dr. Maria King, Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Agricultural Air Quality Engineering and Science (CAAQES) at BAEN TAMU.

To learn more about Zeteo Tech and its technology, please visit www.zeteotech.com.

About Zeteo Tech

Zeteo Tech is a venture-backed biodefense and medical device company that has developed a revolutionary new class of fieldable biological mass spectrometers. Zeteo’s instruments identify airborne microbes, proteins, and lipids, and can be used to screen for infectious disease and other biothreats. Its innovative, patented and patent-pending time of flight mass spectrometry technology, digitalMALDI®, enables fully automated and near real-time identification of bio-threats in operational environments and dramatically lowers cost-of-ownership relative to the biomolecular reagent-based systems being currently deployed for biodefense applications. To learn more, visit www.zeteotech.com.

About Texas A&M University

The Center for Agricultural Air Quality Engineering and Science (CAAQES) at the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering addresses the needs for improved monitoring of public health emergencies by focusing on the collection, detection and tracking of hazardous bioaerosols including viruses and infectious particles with antimicrobial resistance. The sampling of bioaerosols using the wetted wall cyclone collectors developed at TAMU are conducted in industrial, agricultural, urban, and mass transport areas, such as hospitals, portable classrooms, dairy barns, chicken coops and meat processing facilities. The broader interest covers the computational and molecular modeling of bioaerosol transport and behavior, and the mitigation of their entrainment in ventilation airflow.

Media Contact

Kalyn Schieffer for Zeteo Tech

kos@anzupartners.com

Zeteo Tech Inc. Awarded $175K NOAA SBIR Phase I Grant to Develop Cutting-Edge Aerosol Detection System for Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB)

     Zeteo Tech, Inc. is proud to announce that it has been awarded a $175,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This funding under grant number NA24OARX021G0001-T1-01 will support the development of a groundbreaking portable, fieldable, automated MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer designed to detect and quantify aerosolized toxins produced by harmful algal blooms (HAB).

     Harmful algal blooms have long been recognized as a significant and urgent threat to public health and the environment. The toxins produced by these algae not only contaminate food and water sources but also pose a lesser-known danger through aerosolization. Inhalation of these airborne toxins has been linked to increased hospitalization rates in coastal areas during HAB events. However, the transient nature of these aerosolized toxins has made it challenging to accurately assess exposure levels and their impact on human health.

     Zeteo Tech’s proposed solution addresses this critical gap by providing a rapid, accurate, and cost-effective method for screening the aerosol environment of coastal regions for a wide range of algal toxins. The portable mass spectrometer will serve as an early warning system, allowing local officials to make informed real-time decisions on emerging algal blooms, ultimately protecting coastal populations and economies.

     “We are thrilled to receive this NOAA SBIR Phase I award, which will enable us to advance our research and development of this detection system for aerosolized toxins,” said Tom McCreery, Chief Operations Officer and Chief Innovation Officer at Zeteo Tech. “This technology has the potential not just to improve but revolutionize the way we monitor and respond to harmful algal blooms, providing critical data that can safeguard public health and support future research into the effects of these toxins on human health.”

     The knowledge generated from this innovative system will not only enhance the detection of emerging HABs but also empower researchers and policymakers with the tools needed to mitigate their impact on coastal communities and industries.

     As Zeteo Tech embarks on this critical project, it looks forward to collaborating with NOAA and other stakeholders to bring this vital technology to fruition.