INK-JET SYSTEM FOR MICROCHEMICAL STIMULATION OF TISSUE

THE INVESTIGATORS WILL USE PHASE I DATA TO ASSESS THE ECONOMTHIS PROPOSAL CONCERNS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR ADMINISTERING DRUGS AND OTHER BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE FLUIDSTO LIVING CELLS AND TISSUES IN VITRO OR IN VIVO. THE NEW TECHNOLOGY IS BASED ON INK-JET PRINTING, IN WHICH COMPUTER-CONTROLLED JETS ARE USED TO DISPENSE PICOLITER DROPLETS OF FLUIDS IN HIGHLY PRECISE TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL-PATTERNS. OUR COMPANY, MICROFAB, HAS DEVELOPED MICRO-JET FLUID DISPENSERS FOR NUMEROUS INDUSTRIAL AND MANUFACTURING APPLICATIONS; HERE WE SEEK FUNDS TO DEVELOP A MICRO-JET INSTRUMENT FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH. THE MICRO-JET HAS MANY POTENTIAL USES IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH, INCLUDING (1) DISPENSING SOLUTIONS FOR MICROANALYSIS/MICROASSAY; (II) PLACING REAGENT MICROSPOTS ONTISSUE FOR MICROHISTOCHEMISTRY; (III) PRECISELY CONTROLLED DELIVERY OF DRUGS IN PICOLITER TO MICROLITER AMOUNTS TO LIVING CELLS AND TISSUES. THE PRESENT WORK WILL TEST MICRO-JET TECHNIQUES FOR FOCAL APPLICATION OF DRUGS ONTO LIVING TISSUE IN VITRO. PICOLITERALIQUOTS OF DRUG WILL BE "FIRED" FROM THE REMOTELY-AIMED MICRO-JET (POSITIONED ABOVE A BRAIN TISSUE SLICE) ONTO PRESELECTED REGIONS OF THE TISSUE SLICE, AND EFFECTS WILL BEMONITORED BY RECORDING NEURONAL ACTION POTENTIALS. FUTURE APPLICATIONS ARE ENVISIONED IN WHICH BRAIN TISSUE IS RAPIDLY "SCANNED" FOR DRUG-SENSITIVE RECEPTORS BY COMPUTER-CONTROLLED AIMING OF THE MICRO-JET AT SEQUENTIAL DISCRETE LOCI.