# Microfluidic Isolation and Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 and Virus Related Exosomes

> **NIH NIH U18** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2022 · $999,104

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Robust, efficient and reliable testing for SARS-CoV-2 is extraordinarily challenging due to our lack of ultra-
sensitive assays and ever evolving knowledge of the virus. Standard PCR based assays still result in very high
false negative rates in the earliest days of infection. Microfluidic processing of clinical samples is low cost and
shows great promise for translating most liquid biopsy assay to the clinic. Our laboratory was one of the first to
apply microfluidic technologies for the isolation of both circulating tumor cells and exosomes in the blood of
patients with cancer. For SARS-CoV-2 patients, saliva, stool, and plasma are all thought to be potential resources
for both virus detection as well as other clinical biomarkers that might inform us of infection. Thus, for this U18,
we will optimize our exosome capture technology, the EVHB-Chip, for the isolation of intact SARS-CoV-2 virus,
testing its utility for each of these biofluids. To complete this work, we will complete a full clinical validation and
benchmarking of the assay. Once fully optimized, our detection assay will be compared against existing EUA
SARS-CoV-2 detection assay to determine detection sensitivity and specificity. Further, we plan to demonstrate
that the increased sensitivity and specificity enabled by our microfluidic device will result in earlier detection of
SARS-CoV-2, reducing false negatives in this testing window. At the completion of this work, we will have
collected the data training sets and submitted a full EUA plan that would enable the FDA’s authorization of our
test to be used in the clinic.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10321009
- **Project number:** 4U18TR003793-02
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Genevieve Marie Boland
- **Activity code:** U18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $999,104
- **Award type:** 4N
- **Project period:** 2020-12-21 → 2023-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10321009

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10321009, Microfluidic Isolation and Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 and Virus Related Exosomes (4U18TR003793-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10321009. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*