I-Corps: Software and Services to Enable Metabolic Flux Analysis

代谢通量分析(MFA)允许确定活细胞内的生化反应速率，否则无法直接测量。与谷歌地图报告高速公路网内交通流量的方式类似，MFA可以识别生化网络内的细胞途径瓶颈(路障)和浪费的新陈代谢过程(迂回)。这些信息可用于设计改进的生产系统(例如，寄主生物体和/或栽培平台)，以用于工业生物过程或农业。MFA技术还可以用于生物医学研究，以确定代谢性疾病的潜在治疗靶点或诊断生物标志物。然而，由于需要复杂的计算算法和数据分析，大多数公司没有必要的专业知识来使用MFA评估他们的测量结果。简单地说，拟议的项目旨在扩大由皮？S实验室开发的先进代谢工程软件和技术在生物技术和制药行业的应用。代谢通量分析是一种复杂的分析技术，涵盖分子生物学、化学、生物化学、细胞生物学、植物生理学、数学、计算机科学和工程学。拟议的MFA方法将是严格的，因为该团队的目标是从公司可以从他们的实验系统获得的可用测量中捕获尽可能多的信息。正因为如此，一个组织内部的直接影响将是所执行的科学的质量的提高。这个i-Corps团队的目标是通过创建可测试的假设、验证其假设、解释所有错误来源并关注细节来分析数据，从而以身作则。MFA与拟议的方法相结合，有可能使公司更好地执行代谢工程。改进的评估细胞代谢的方法不仅有可能推动制造效率的巨大进步，这对从生物燃料生产到食品生产的一切都很有用，而且还可以用于癌症或糖尿病等代谢性疾病的药物发现和治疗应用。

Metabolic flux analysis (MFA) allows for the determination of biochemical reaction rates inside of living cells, which are otherwise impossible to measure directly. Similar to how Google Maps reports traffic flows within highway networks, MFA can identify cellular pathway bottlenecks (roadblocks) and wasteful metabolic processes (detours) within biochemical networks. This information can be used to engineer improved production systems (e.g., host organisms and/or cultivation platforms) for use in industrial bioprocesses or agriculture. The MFA technology can also be used in biomedical research to identify potential therapeutic targets or diagnostic biomarkers for metabolic diseases. However, most companies do not have the necessary expertise to assess their measurements using MFA due to the sophisticated computational algorithms and data analysis required. At its simplest, the proposed project seeks to broaden the use of advanced metabolic engineering software and techniques developed in the PI?s laboratory for applications in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.Metabolic flux analysis (MFA) is a complex analysis technique that encompasses molecular biology, chemistry, biochemistry, cell biology, plant physiology, mathematics, computer science, and engineering. The proposed approach to MFA will be rigorous because this team aims to capture as much information as possible from the available measurements that companies can obtain from their experimental system. Because of this, the immediate impacts within an organization will be an increase in the quality of the science performed. This I-Corps team aims to lead by example by creating testable hypotheses, validating its assumptions, accounting for all sources of error, and analyzing data with attention to detail. MFA, coupled with the proposed approach, has the potential to change for the better how companies perform metabolic engineering. Improved methodologies to assess cellular metabolism have the potential to drive tremendous advances in not just manufacturing efficiency, which is useful for everything from biofuels production to food production, but also for drug discovery and therapeutic applications in metabolic diseases such as cancer or diabetes.