A FILM SCANNER FOR HIGH-THROUGHPUT DNA SEQUENCING

THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP A HIGHLY AUTOMATED DNA SEQUENCING SYSTEM THAT CAN BE SOLD TO MOLECULAR BIOLOGY RESEARCHERS INTERESTED IN CARRYING OUT LARGE-SCALE SEQUENCING PROJECTS. THE COMPLETE SYSTEM WILL INCLUDE ROBOTIC REACTION PREPARATION, A HIGH-CAPACITY GEL ELECTROPHORESIS SYSTEM, ROBOTIC GEL LOADING, AN AUTOMATIC GEL FILM READER, AND SOFTWARE FOR MANAGING THE DATA. THE SPECIFIC AIM OF THIS PROJECT IS LIMITED TO DEVELOPMENT OF ONE COMPONENT, THE AUTOMATIC AUTORADIOGRAPHIC FILM READER. THE GEL READER WILL HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO READ FROM 10,000 TO 20,000 BASES OF RAW SEQUENCE PER X-RAY FILM IN ABOUT 1 HOUR WITH A MINIMUM OF ATTENTION FROM THE USER AND WILL BE ABLE TO BE MANUFACTURED INEXPENSIVELY ENOUGH TO BE PLACED ON THE MARKET AT LESS THAN $30,000.