A quicker, better test for diseases such as bird flu could come from research under way at the University of Hawai'i.

With the potential to be more accurate than a dip-stick style medical test and faster than growing a virus in a petri dish, nanotechnology could provide the next line of defense against pandemic.

A contract between UH and a Hawai'i-based biotechnology company, BioXene, will help fund research by Wei Wen Winston Su, a chemical engineer and UH professor of molecular biosciences and bioengineering who has been developing the tiny sensing devices.

The biosensors, Su said, are synthetic proteins created through genetic and chemical manipulation and are about 10,000-fold smaller than the thickness of a hair.

"They're like Lego toys," Su said. "We put them together like building blocks."

Constructed to target a specific virus or spore, they bind to the target, change color and glow when placed in a solution with the virus or spore, he said.

BioXene, which hopes to have some form of commercial product by the end of 2006, sees the potential for early detection of bird flu or other rapidly spreading diseases.

"The technology has the potential to significantly reduce the time and effort needed to identify target compounds in solution," Victor Wong, BioXene founder and CEO, said in a written statement.

"This would make it particularly useful in the global effort to contain rapid spreading pandemic viruses such as avian influenza and SARS," he added.

Su said biosensors developed to target a specific virus could be mixed in a test tube with saliva from a sick traveler.

RAPID RESULTS

If the biosensor found the target virus in the saliva, medical authorities could see a color change in less than 20 minutes, he said.

Some tests, including those using a dip stick similar to early pregnancy detection kits, can provide similarly rapid results, he said, but aren't very accurate.

The gold standard for accuracy involves growing the virus from a specimen, a process that requires days.

Su hopes to develop a test that will be both rapid and accurate.

Dr. Duane J. Gubler, director of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, said he isn't familiar with Su's research but applauds the goal of developing better tests.

"We definitely need new tests to more rapidly and accurately diagnose the disease in people early in the illness," Gubler said. "Rapid and accurate detection allows public health officials to react more effectively and quicker, and that saves lives and money."

BIOTECH BOOST

The project is co-funded by BioXene and by the university through an Accelerated Research Commercialization grant program.

The ARC grant, created by the University Connections program, will provide $57,578 for the research. BioXene will provide $71,654 in cash and in-kind funding.

Keith Mattson, director of University Connections, said ARC grants are helping to expand the biotechnical industry in Hawai'i by helping startup companies, like BioXene, to stretch their research and development dollars.

"The more successful we are at doing that," he said, "the more successful we're going to be at growing a biotech industry."

COMMERCIAL BREAK

By bringing in a commercial partner early in the research process, a researcher is more likely to focus on commercial applications for his work, Mattson said.

The university profits by having a partner to help move promising technologies into the marketplace, Mattson said.

Su said that although his main focus always has been to advance scientific research, he also welcomes the opportunity to participate in a commercial endeavor that could have such beneficial results.

"I'd like to strike a balance," he said. "I welcome the opportunity to put my work to good use."

Reach Karen Blakeman at kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.