A NOVEL HIGH-CONTENT HIGH-THROUGHPUT SCREENING PLATFORM

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) Recent drug discovery efforts have been overwhelmed with numerous new potential drug targets and compounds. Although no single technology will solve this challenge, cell-based analysis will clearly be critical. Existing cell-based assay platforms allow either high-throughput screening (HTS) or high-content screening (HCS), but not both. Oncosis has developed a novel clinical laser-based cell processing system, called PhotosisTM, for high-speed scanning and cell purification via the use of lethal laser effects on unwanted cells. The current Photosis system can scan cells at >105 per second, and can laser-irradiate specific cells leading to various outcomes including death, optoinjection, photobleaching, and molecular uncaging. This system is the foundation for the development of a new research-oriented cell analysis and processing instrument, called LEAPTM, which has the capability to implement HCS assays in a very high-throughput manner (HC/HTS). Feasibility studies are proposed to develop software and run cell-based assays to evaluate the speed of the LEAP platform in HC/HTS. The resulting platform, which also incorporates a targeted treatment laser, will enable new types of drug discovery approaches. Phase II will go on to optimize and implement various cell-based assays in biologically relevant experimental systems, resulting in data supporting this powerful new tool for drug discovery.