SBIR Phase I: A High Throughput Microfluidics Platform to Measure Secretion from Single Cells

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to develop single cell analysis technology to provide insight into cellular mechanisms, which has the potential to transform drug development and manufacturing. Single-cell analysis, or the ability to decipher cell-to-cell heterogeneity, is a limiting factor in biotechnology and clinical applications. This project aims to further develop a transformative platform technology for integrated single-cell analysis capable of addressing existing challenges with the current state-of-the-art. The platform will potentially shift the paradigm of drug development and manufacturing, enabling quick iteration and evaluation of new therapeutic compounds. This approach could significantly reduce the time and cost to bring new drugs to market and reduce the overall cost of treating patients, which is a substantial benefit to society. Beyond this initial application, this single-cell analysis platform could become a readily implemented research tool, enhancing our basic understanding of biology, facilitate engineering of cell function, as well as evaluating safety and efficacy of new drugs and treatments. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop a robust and cost effective commercial prototype technology platform for integrated single-cell analysis. A key feature of the platform technology is the unprecedented sensitivity in measuring quantitatively secreted molecules from single cells. This is achieved by incubating single cells in extremely small volumes, and enabling analytics on an unprecedented scale in these microscopic bioreactors. The proposed work will lead to the development of a consumable prototype microfluidic chip, enabling quick and resource efficient adaptation of the platform to the marketplace. The proposed prototype will be validated through relevant studies, addressing a confirmed market need in cell line development. Commercial adaptation of this prototype will potentially provide deep insight into biological and physiological processes on a single-cell level, and transform drug development and manufacturing, therapeutic treatment, as well as clinical diagnostics. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.