Microarray System for Phenotypic and Functional Cytometry

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term objective of the proposed effort is to develop an autonomous clinical diagnostics system for monitoring normal and diseased immune function that occurs in the context of infection, inflammation, asthma, autoimmune disease, and neoplasia. This system will be a microarray-based bioassay platform that specifically captures distinct cell types and soluble macromolecules from a patient's blood sample onto spatially separate regions on a biosensor chip. Initial capture of macromolecules and cells can be quantified to assess the presence of specific subpopulations of leukocytes, cytokines, antibodies and other immunologically relevant molecules. Subsequent culture of the captured cells under different conditions can be used to measure the production of specific cell products in real time to assess immune cell functional capacities. The technology allows for highly parallel measurements that result in the capability to perform hundreds of individual functional cellular assays simultaneously without the use of molecular labels. The system will enable assessment of patients' immune capacity in near-real time using microliter-scaled samples of blood readily harvested with minimally invasive procedures (e.g., fingerstick capillary blood sampling). Such real-time measurements will be crucial for the ongoing monitoring of disease progression as well as the evaluation of prophylactic treatments and therapeutic manipulations that sustain and support immune mechanisms. This project will develop tools that will enable improved diagnostics for autoimmune diseases and for infectious diseases.