HUBBARD, Ohio (WKBN) – Tucked in off of N. Main Street in Hubbard, Nanologix makes material for petri dishes — those small glass plates used in science experiments. Recently, CEO Bret Barnhizer and two of his associates came up with a test for COVID-19 that he says provides results in less than an hour.
“I believe it was 40 days from concept to patent filing after testing,” Barnhizer said.
Right now, the wait for coronavirus test results takes up to a week. However, Barnhizer said his experiments started showing positive reactions within seconds.
“Everyone was actually stunned. I’ll just use the phrase ‘holy cow,’ was the statement from everyone.”
Barnhizer said he wanted to design a test that could be used in a doctor’s office or even at home. What he came up with can do more than just detect COVID-19.
“This test should work for any virus without exception,” he said.
Under new federal guidelines for research on the coronavirus, Barnhizer hopes his patent application could be approved in a matter of months.
The next step now is finding the right partner to manufacture the test kits on a massive scale — something Barnhizer’s small shop isn’t able to do.
“Someone who does this technology needs to approach it and be able to bear all the marketing costs, all the production costs,” he said.
Although Barnhizer won’t say much more about that, he’s beginning to hear from others.
“There’s demonstrated interest,” he said.