SBIR Phase I: A Simple, Robust, Low Cost Tool to Quantify Stable Isotopes in Organic Molecules: Enabling Easy Access to Compound Source, Pathway, and Biokinetic Studies

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将把Picarro的WS-CRDS（波长扫描腔环衰光谱）仪器的能力与气相色谱(GC) -燃烧(C)技术结合起来。这种新型高精度，但低成本的分析仪将同时测量有机分子的氢（D/H）和碳（13C/12C）同位素比率，并提供对潜在生化过程的关键见解。一个重要的应用是将氘-和/或13c标记的有机化合物给予受试者，并使用同位素比率监测来跟踪标记化合物在时间和身体组织中的命运。这种高精度的测量目前是通过同位素比质谱仪（IRMS）获得的，这种仪器体积太大，价格昂贵，而且劳动强度大，无法广泛使用。此外，需要两个独立的IRMS系统来同时测量氢和碳同位素。Picarro的GC-C-CRDS分析仪将是IRMS的高精度，小型，廉价的单系统替代，用于量化氢和碳同位素。这项研究的更广泛影响是，通过促进预防医学的发展，能够大规模使用稳定同位素作为代谢研究和医学诊断（例如胰岛素抵抗）的示踪剂，通过提供廉价和高性能的同位素分析仪用于临床部署，以及随后可能快速、局部、在偏远和经济上处于不利地位的社区进行先进的医疗检测和诊断。在利用这笔资金在研究实验室建立GC-C-CRDS分析仪之后，Picarro打算将其扩展到医院、诊所和生物制药实验室。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will combine the capabilities of Picarro's WS-CRDS (wavelength-scanned cavity ring down spectroscopy) instrumentation with Gas Chromatography (GC) - Combustion (C) technology. This new high-precision, but low cost analyzer will simultaneously measure hydrogen (D/H) and carbon (13C/12C) isotope ratios of organic molecules and provides critical insight into underlying biochemical processes. One important application is the administration of deuterium- and/or 13C-labeled organic compounds to a subject and the use of isotopic ratio monitoring to track the fate of the labeled compound across time and body tissues. Such high-precision measurements are currently obtained with Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometers (IRMS), which are too large, expensive, and laborintensive for wide use. In addition, two separate IRMS systems are needed for simultaneous hydrogen and carbon isotopic measurements. Picarro's GC-C-CRDS analyzer will be a high-precision, small, and inexpensive single-system replacement for IRMS to quantify both hydrogen and carbon isotopes. The broader impact of this research is the cost reduction in health care through the advancement of preventative medicine by enabling the large-scale use of stable isotopes as tracers for metabolic research studies and medical diagnosis (insulin resistance, for instance) through the availability of an inexpensive and high-performance isotopic analyzer for clinical deployment and the subsequent possibility of fast, local, advanced medical testing and diagnosis in remote and economically disadvantaged communities. After establishing the GC-C-CRDS analyzer in research laboratories with this grant, Picarro intends to extend its presence to hospitals, clinics, and biopharmaceutical laboratories.