A high-throughput sample preparation platform for genomic and epigenetic analysis

Several types of cancerse gpancreatic and brain malignanciesremain extremely lethal despite the introduction of chemotherapy more thanyears agoThe hallmark of all cancers are somatic mutations which cannot be correctedIn sharp contrastepigenetic changesessential contributors to tumorigenesisare pharmacologically reversibleThe ability to remedy detrimental epigenetic alterations are opening up new treatment avenuesGlioblastoma is an example where an epigenetic mark guides treatmentIn epigeneticsthe Chromatin ImmunoPrecipitationChIPassay is used to determine the genomic location of a given protein and its modification se ghistonestranscription factors or epigenetic modifying enzymesThe assay requires small samples of chromatin or DNA be fragmented reproduciblywithout contamination or sample degradationUnfortunatelycurrent technologies suffer from epitope loss and irreproducibility due to time consuming and inconsistent shearingmaking the ChIP assay unreliable for clinical useWe have overcome this bottleneck with PIXULPIXelated ULtrasoundThe device uses ultrasound transducers that treat samples equally in every well of awell microplateAll samples are processed simultaneously and reproducibly in a few minutesa minimumx improvement over existing technologiesWith PIXULcells are grown inwell microplatesand then crosslinked and harvested in situminand sheared inminutesSimilarlydozens of tissue samples can also be quickly processed in parallelall in one microplatefor e gtoxicity studiesNo other commercial system is capable of thisThe prepared microplate may further be used directly in the assayeliminating the need for time consuming manual transfer stepsPIXUL is automated and requires little trainingOur workflow breakthrough is a major step towards fast and accurate assayscritically important for drug discovery and personalized medicinemaking PIXUL a valuable sample preparation tool in epigeneticsand also in NGS and potentially a variety of other analytical applicationse gproteomicsmetabolomicsWe have excellent results with our current lab prototypeChIP qPCR and ChIP Seq resultsand ChIP assay signals are stronger and more reproducible than from commercial competitorsThe overarching goal of this project is to advance PIXUL to a commercial prototype for end user evaluation and feedbackTwo Aims are proposedIn Aimwe will develop a custom microplate that will decrease shearing time and heat generationThe main goal here is maximize epitope integrityIn Aimwe will fabricate commercial prototype PIXUL devices for evaluation and feedbackThis information will be used to manufacture market ready PIXUL instrumentMajor epigenetic companies have stated that PIXUL is a game changer and expressed interest in partnering with us to market it