SBIR Phase I: Physiologic High Throughput Screening of Bioengineered Tissues

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an innovative high-throughput/ high content drug screening platform utilizing three-dimensional human skeletal muscle tissue constructs which mimic in vivo skeletal muscle to quantify muscle force generation. The proposed drug testing platform will contribute to significant reductions in time and costs associated with bringing new drugs to market by discovering drug candidates and eliminating ineffective compounds earlier than currently possible. Converging biological systems (in vitro human muscle analogs) with optomechanics (sensors capable of monitoring muscle contractility) enables a novel and powerful drug testing platform. Unlike existing systems, this research incorporates biomechanics into drug discovery by using mechanical sensors to detect contraction of multiple identical tissue samples over extended time periods. This interdisciplinary approach employs mechanical/electrical engineering and biological aspects, providing an early means of separating prospective muscle drug candidates from those likely to fail in humans. This research will impact muscle contractility disorder/disease research, the pharmaceutical industry, and the biotechnology industry. Significant demands exist for new drugs treating contractility disorders involving skeletal muscle. Significant socioeconomic and quality-of-life impacts will result for patients with contractility disorders, i.e., sarcopenia, atrophy or Duchennes muscular dystrophy. Upon successful development, the sensing mechanism will potentially be used to test several contractile tissues relevant to a range of important human contractile disorders and diseases.