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Commercial Adoption of Ion Mobility Technology Drives Multi-Omics Applications
Feb 03, 2017

At the University of Florida, Professor Rick Yost is high on FAIMS, a technology that he envisions as a fast, mobile platform for molecular detection. "Nobody has a good commercial device that does what we know [FAIMS] can do," he said, but he's got several applications in mind.

One is a breathalyzer for marijuana. Yost is scientific advisor to a Canadian company called Cannabix that is working on such a device. FAIMS devices can be as small as a book of matches, he said, and water vapor actually helps improve the technique. "It's a hot topic for either medical purposes or recreation," he said. Many states have passed laws prescribing a legal limit for THC in the blood, but don't have a field-ready test for it, he said.

He's also launched a spinout called Breathtec, which is looking for biomarkers in the breath. "Diabetes, fatty liver disease, we know these things impact the breath," Yost said. While it might be a stretch to use breath for a definitive diagnosis, he suggested it could be used as a first-line screening method for something like fatty liver disease, which requires a biopsy for diagnosis.

https://www.genomeweb.com/proteomics-protein-research/commercial-adoption-ion-mobility-technology-drives-multi-omics