STTR Phase I: Development of Bio-compatible and Bio-safe Cell Sorters

这个小型企业技术转移（STTR）第一阶段项目将展示基于微流体的、生物兼容的、生物安全的、荧光激活的细胞分选器的可行性。细胞分选器是功能强大、高通量、单细胞表征和纯化工具，对于分子生物学、病理学、植物生物学、干细胞生物学和医学诊断等领域的实验室至关重要。尽管它们具有重大的影响，但目前的商用细胞分选器有各种各样的缺点。高昂的仪器成本（平均成本：约50万美元），高昂的维护成本（维护成本：每年约3万美元，需要训练有素的人员），严重的生物安全问题，以及细胞活力和功能的降低，使得传统的细胞分选器在许多应用中效率较低，阻碍了它们的广泛使用。为了解决现有细胞分选器的局限性，提出了一种具有两项关键技术的创新方法：1)基于“微流体漂移”的细胞聚焦技术；2)使用啁啾交叉换能器（IDTs）的细胞偏转技术。所提出的微流控电池分选机消除了有害气溶胶的产生，并保持了高细胞活力和功能。如果成功，这个项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是为研究人员和科学家开发出最具生物相容性和生物安全性的细胞分选器。根据2011年BCC的一份研究报告，2010年，流式细胞仪和细胞分选仪的市场规模为14亿美元，预计从2010年到2015年将以9.8%的复合年增长率增长（22亿美元）。服务的可用市场（SAM）估计约为2亿美元。与现有的细胞分选器相比，所提出的微流控细胞分选器具有以下优点：1)生物相容性高；2)生物安全性高；3)成本低，维护少。此外，细胞分选器将更便于研究人员使用，并解决市场上现有的未满足需求（例如，在保持高活力和功能的同时分选脆弱或敏感的细胞）。它将加速研究成果，改善诊断和治疗方法。随着公司的发展，它还将创造更多的就业机会。

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of microfluidic-based, bio-compatible, bio-safe, fluorescence-activated cell sorters. Cell sorters are powerful, high-throughput, single-cell characterization and purification tools that are vital for labs in fields such as molecular biology, pathology, plant biology, stem cell biology, and medical diagnostics. Despite their significant impact, current commercial cell sorters have a variety of drawbacks. High instrument costs (average cost: ~$500,000), high maintenance (maintenance cost: ~$30,000 per year; highly trained personnel needed), significant biosafety concerns, and reduction of cell viability and functionality make conventional cell sorters less effective in many applications and inhibit their widespread use. To address limitations of existing cell sorters, an innovative approach is proposed that features two key technologies: 1) a "microfluidic drifting" based cell-focusing technique; and 2) a cell-deflection technique using chirped interdigitated transducers (IDTs). The proposed microfluidic cell sorter eliminates the generation of hazardous aerosols and preserves high cell viability and functions. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project, if successful, will be the development of the most bio-compatible and bio-safe cell sorters for researchers and scientists. According to a 2011 BCC research report, the instrument market for flow cytometers and cell sorters accounted for $1.4 billion in 2010 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.8% from 2010 to 2015 ($2.2 billion). The served available market (SAM) is estimated to be ~$200 million. Compared with the existing cell sorters, the proposed microfluidic cell sorter will have the following advantages: 1) high bio-compatibility; 2) high bio-safety; and 3) low costs and low maintenance. In addition, the cell sorter will be more accessible to researchers and address existing unmet needs in the market (e.g., sorting fragile or sensitive cells while preserving high viability and functions). It will accelerate research findings and improve diagnostics and therapeutics. It will also create more job opportunities as the company grows.