High Sensitivity Multi-Well Plate Reader Based on an Array of Photon Counting Det

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Title: High throughput and high sensitivity multi-well plate reader Project Summary/Abstract: The multi-well or microwell plate has become ubiquitous in research and clinical laboratories for processing multiple samples with high speed and reproducibility. These plates have a standard size (86 x 128 mm) and are available in 24, 96, 384, or 1536 well configurations. A single experiment or assay is carried out in each well and the results of the assay are most often evaluated using an optical detection technique. Typical optical detection methods include absorbance, fluorescence intensity and polarization, chemiluminescence, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and time resolved fluorescence. Current optical detection systems for these microwell plates are based on detectors that are a compromise between speed and sensitivity. Imaging CCD arrays can evaluate all of the wells in a plate simultaneously, but have low sensitivity and limited temporal resolution. PMT based detector systems have high sensitivity and fast temporal response, but can only interrogate one well at a time. Radiation Monitoring Devices proposes to develop a detector system for a high sensitivity multi-well plate reader based on an array of our CMOS photon counting Geiger mode avalanche photodiodes. The proposed detector would incorporate the high throughput of the CCD detector with the high sensitivity of the PMT. In addition, the detector array can measure fluorescent lifetimes of 2 nanoseconds, which cannot be done with CCD arrays and has better near infrared sensitivity than the PMT. The goal of the Phase I SBIR is to develop a prototype 24 well plate reader using the RMD Geiger mode Avalanche Photodiode array detector. The key challenges in the Phase I program will be to build the prototype detector and integrate the digital measurement functions. The proposed plate reader would simultaneously measure fluorescence intensity or fluorescence lifetime signals from all of the samples in the 24 well plate using a 24 element CMOS APD detector. The goal of the Phase II program will be to build a fully integrated plate reader solution which can read 24, 96, or 384 well plates and simultaneously measure fluorescence intensity, polarization transfer, and fluorescence lifetime at each well. In the Phase II program, we plan to increase the number of pixels in the array, increase the functionality of each pixel, and reduce the size of each pixel. Title: High throughput and high sensitivity multi-well plate reader Project Narrative: The multi-well or microwell plate has become ubiquitous in research and clinical laboratories for processing multiple samples with high speed and reproducibility. Radiation Monitoring devices proposes to develop a detector system for a high sensitivity multi-well plate reader based on an array of our CMOS photon counting Geiger mode avalanche photodiodes. The proposed detector will have improved functionality over existing detectors and will have lower cost.