96 Channel Continuous Flow Print head and Integrated Flow Cell System

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The ultimate goal of this project is to have a 96 channel surface plasmon resonance (SPR) instrument capable of high-throughput, sensitive investigation of G-protein- coupled receptors (GPCRs). Accordingly, Wasatch Micr ofluidics will team with the University of Utah to adapt Wasatch's continuous flow spotting technique for biomolecules to create a flow cell array directly integrated with a commercial biosensor array platform. To demonstrate the potential of the flow cell technology, we have chosen to develop the system around the particularly challenging applications of GPCRs. GPCRs are challenging to study because they are typically unstable when removed from their native membrane environment and are often expressed at l ow levels. Currently, flow cell technology is the limiting factor in the development of high throughput label-free sensing technologies that have been shown to be powerful tools in studying GPCRs. Modification of Wasatch Microfluidics Continuous Flow Micro spotterTM into a highly parallel flow cell should begin to eliminate this bottleneck and provide a template for even more highly parallel systems. The research performed in this project will specifically help us understand the differences between different pumping technologies and their ability to be integrated with the flow cell. Preliminary work suggests that a flow cell array can convert mediocre SPR imaging instruments into highly competitive protein analysis instruments comparable to state-of-the-art S PR instruments with meager throughput. We will also develop an understanding of how the flow cell technology will impact the sensing capabilities of a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) instrument and an optimized baseline protocol will be developed. The end result will be a 96 channel flow cell, which will be scalable to much higher throughputs (for example to 192, 384 and eventually 1536). This flow cell will be generic such that it will be easily integrated with a variety of other label free sensing technol ogies. The end result of this research and development effort will be a parallel processing fluidic system for protein printing and real-time optical biosensor technology that expands the utility of these applications by 100-fold.