During this program, Electronic BioSciences (EBS) along with our academic collaborators, aim to solve the technical challenges associated with the development of a nanoscale platform along with the associated methodology for sequencing RNA, with the capability to correctly identify chemically modified nucleotides, all without the use of a cDNA intermediate. At present, the scientific communities? understanding of the ?epitranscriptome,? i.e. the chemical modifications that regulate the function of RNA, is still in its infancy. While there are over 100 known RNA nucleotide modifications, due to the lack of analytical characterization methods available, the exact roles of these modifications remain to be determined. New technologies capable of elucidating the role of these modifications have the potential to revolutionize the use of the epitranscriptome, both enabling diagnostics and therapeutics. At the conclusion of this Phase 1 effort, complete concept feasibility of an entirely new and innovative method for RNA sequencing will be demonstrated, including a new method for individual RNA nucleotide identification and a new method of the sequential registration of these bases.
