LMU spin-off obtains new funding to develop better rapid tests

Amplifold GmbH, a spin-off from LMU, has closed a seed financing round worth five million euros. The start-up is developing a technology which uses DNA origami nanostructures to significantly boost the sensitivity of commercially available lateral flow assays (LFAs). It will invest the funding in bringing the ultrasensitive tests to market.

“From a concept to a deployable rapid test – that is the kind of transfer we need,” says Dr. Philipp Baaske, Vice President for Entrepreneurship at LMU. “We are convinced that our insights achieve their full impact when they flow back into society. This is why LMU pursues a clear transfer strategy: enabling excellent research, translating innovations into real-world applications, and making this visible.”

With the financing, Amplifold will relocate to the Innovation and Start-Up Center for Biotechnology (IZB) in Martinsried, one of Europe’s leading biotech centers. This new location offers direct access to scientific infrastructure and proximity to academic and clinical partners. The funds will be used primarily to expand product development and regulatory activities and to bring Amplifold’s first in-vitro diagnostic product to IVDR approval in Europe.

The scientific foundations of the technology were developed by LMU scientist Dr. Maximilian Urban and his team in the laboratory of Professor Tim Liedl. Published in Nature Communications, the results of their research demonstrate that DNA origami nanostructures can boost the signal of standard rapid tests by up to a hundredfold.

“Lateral flow tests have transformed access to diagnostics, but their sensitivity has traditionally lagged behind central lab systems,” says Dr. Maximilian Urban, co-founder and managing director of Amplifold. “DNA origami signal amplification allows low-cost rapid tests to approach instrument-level sensitivity without changing the basic test format.”

Amplifold plans to further expand the ultrasensitive signal amplification platform for lateral flow immunoassays. Through the use of DNA origami nanostructures as programmable adapters, the technology enables substantial sensitivity improvements while preserving the simplicity and low cost of the test format. The LMU start-up is working on establishing its products in in-vitro diagnostics and the life sciences.

“What makes Amplifold unique is that we can deliver up to roughly 100-fold higher analytical sensitivity at essentially the same cost of goods as conventional LFAs,” says LMU physicist Dr. Enzo Kopperger, co-founder and managing director. “Our architecture is designed to plug into existing manufacturing workflows, which means partners can rapidly upgrade their assays instead of redeveloping their product lines from scratch.”

Tim Liedl, Professor of Experimental Physics at LMU and head of the nanoengineering lab from which Amplifold emerged, describes the development from a research perspective: “Over the past years, our group has worked to turn DNA origami from a beautiful scientific concept into a robust nanoscale engineering toolbox. It is very rewarding to see a technology that was developed and nurtured in our lab now moving into the clinic and the market, supported by a strong syndicate of investors.”