SBIR Phase I: Development of a 32 site ion channel measurement consumable

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is aimed at developing improved technology for drug discovery and safety screening of ion channels. Ion channels are present in every cell and play key roles in a wide range of physiological processes including the cardiac cycle and neural activity. Librede Inc. is developing an ion channel screening platform based on artificial cell membrane technology that has the potential for decreased instrumentation and running costs with higher throughput and minimal training. In the work proposed here, Librede will design and fabricate a consumable prototype ion channel array plate with 32 measurement sites and measure an ion channel across the whole plate simultaneously. At the completion of this Phase I work we will have an SBS standard consumable array plate ready for integration into an automated platform with solution perfusion to be developed in Phase II. The broader/commercial impacts of this research are to decrease the cost and increase the throughput of ion channel screening. These are well-recognized pain points felt by pharmaceutical and academic researchers. This problem is shared for screening of all drug candidates, since all drugs must be screened against cardiac ion channels for issues of safety. Librede?s fundamentally different approach to ion channel screening will streamline the screening process, reducing its cost and time, resulting in better/safer drugs reaching the market sooner. Our platform gives us a competitive advantage in cost, throughput, and ease of use when compared to the state of the art.