Acquisition of an AKTAxpress MAb System

描述（由申请人提供）：本申请资金用于购买专用高通量色谱系统（GE Healthcare AKTAxpress MAb），以实现单克隆抗体（mAb）纯化的自动化和标准化。该仪器将由范德比尔特单克隆抗体中心（VMAC）存放和操作，以支持几个主要的范德比尔特用户，包括范德比尔特-英格拉姆癌症中心（VICC），两个卓越研究特别计划（胃肠道和乳腺癌孢子），斑马鱼和非洲爪蟾财团，以及范德比尔特大学医学中心（VUMC）内的广泛研究计划，其使用VMAC来产生和纯化用于NIH赞助的研究的mAb。这些用户中的绝大多数参与了癌症或其他与健康有关的研究工作。在过去的十年里，范德比尔特建立了全国最好的核心设施网络之一。在蛋白质组学、质谱和靶向治疗等发现领域取得的巨大成功（参见附录中的研究计划和共享资源）导致了对VMAC服务需求的爆炸式增长。反过来，我们为主要用户提供纯化抗体的能力也出现了关键瓶颈。为了满足增加的总体需求和与治疗应用相关的更高标准，必须大幅提高通量和质量控制。所要求的设备将满足这些需要，并使关键人员有时间从事无法自动化的工作。重要的是，NIH资助的研究人员在一年内节省的资金（超过50万美元）可能大大超过VMAC设施的全年预算。单克隆抗体在用于研究和治疗癌症的广泛研究和临床应用中是至关重要的工具。VMAC的一个关键作用是通过使这些关键试剂价格低廉、易于制造，并随时可供范德比尔特研究和医疗保健界使用，来加速健康和癌症研究多个领域的进展。本申请中描述的仪器是这一使命的核心。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application requests funds to purchase a dedicated high throughput chromatography system (GE Healthcare AKTAxpress MAb) to automate and standardize the purification of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). The instrument will be housed and operated by the Vanderbilt Monoclonal Antibody Core (VMAC) in support of several major Vanderbilt users, including the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC), two Special Programs of Research Excellence (Gastrointestinal and Breast Cancer SPOREs), the Zebrafish and Xenopus Consortia, and a wide spectrum of research programs within the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) that use the VMAC to generate and purify mAbs for NIH-sponsored research. The vast majority of these users are involved in cancer- or other health-related research efforts. Over the past ten years, Vanderbilt has built one of the finest Core Facility Networks in the country. Enormous success in discovery areas such as proteomics, mass spectrometry, and targeted therapeutics (see Research Programs and Shared Resources in appendix) has lead to an explosion in demand for VMAC services. In turn, a critical bottleneck has developed with respect to our ability to provide purified antibodies for our major users. Substantial improvement in both throughput and quality control are necessary to meet the increased overall demand and the higher standards associated with therapeutic applications. The requested equipment will meet these needs and free up time of key personnel for efforts that cannot be readily automated. Importantly, the savings in a single year to NIH-funded researchers (over $500,000) could significantly exceed the entire yearly budget for the VMAC facility. Monoclonal antibodies are critically important tools in a broad range of research and clinical applications used to study and treat cancer. A key role of the VMAC is to accelerate progress in multiple areas of health and cancer research by making these crucial reagents inexpensive, easy to make, and readily available to the Vanderbilt research and healthcare community. The instrument described in this application is central to this mission.