SBIR Phase II: Development and Manufacture of High-Density Plate Washer

该小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目旨在开发一种能够清洗非常高密度的平板的洗板机，例如1536孔板，用于ELISA和高通量筛查分析。目前，已有用于96和384井板的自动洗板机，但没有适用于超高密度的板材。这是因为目前使用喷嘴系统的现有清洗机技术不够可靠，不能使分配和吸气喷嘴正确到达许多非常小的井中的每一个，而且所需的细喷嘴使用许多标准缓冲器很容易堵塞。相比之下，建议的系统使用稳定的解决方案流或板材，使系统不太可能堵塞。该项目的商业应用将允许参与基因组学和药物发现研究的工业和学术研究人员使用高通量筛选分析。拟议的技术将允许额外使用荧光化合物进行筛选，这些化合物通常需要洗涤步骤来去除干扰物质。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to develop a plate washer capable of washing very high-density plates, such as 1536 well plates, for ELISA and high-throughput screening assays. Currently, there are automated plate washers for 96 and 384 well plates, but there are none available for plates with ultra-high density. This is because currently available washer technology, employing a nozzle system, cannot be made reliable enough to allow dispense and aspirate nozzles to properly reach within each of the many, very small wells, and because the thin nozzles needed can get easily clogged using many standard buffers. In contrast, the proposed system uses a steady stream or sheet of solution, making the system less likely to clog. The commercial application of this project will be to allow use of high-throughput screening assays by industrial and academic researchers involved in genomics and drug discovery research. The proposed technology will enable additional use of fluorescent chemical compounds, that typically require a wash step to remove interfering substances, for screening.