This article has been updated from a previous version to clarify that Diomics' technology was licensed solely from the University of Arizona.
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The University of Arizona in collaboration with Arizona Technology Enterprise (AzTE) has licensed DNA collection technology to Diomics, the school announced Monday.
The technology seeks to improve upon current sampling techniques that use cotton swabs to collect DNA. The invention provides "extremely high surface area material with degradable matrix composed of hybrid nanomaterials for a more controlled release of the collected sample from the matrix scaffold," the University of Arizona said in a statement.
Advantages of the technology, it added, include improved limitations in the release of degraded materials at low recovery efficiency, and easily modified surface chemistry of the substrate, providing flexibility to change the mechanical, physical, and chemical properties of the material.
The University of Arizona's Office of Technology Transfer collaborated with AzTE, the intellectual property management organization of Arizona State University, to license the technology to Diomics.
Based in La Jolla, Calif., startup Diomics focuses on diagnostics, forensics, integrated DNA analysis, and genetic solutions. Its lead technology is the Diomat technology, "a novel bioengineered material family for a number of life science applications," according to the UA statement.
Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed.