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

该奖项由2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(Public Law 111-5)资助。这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目将把Picarro的WS-CRDS(波长扫描腔衰荡光谱)仪器的能力与气相色谱(GC)-燃烧(C)技术相结合。这种新的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洞察。一种重要的应用是给受试者注射氚和/或13C标记的有机化合物，并使用同位素比率监测来跟踪标记化合物在不同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，这些仪器太大、太贵、太耗费人力而无法广泛使用。此外，同时进行氢和碳同位素测量需要两个独立的IRMS系统。Picarro的GC-C-CRDS分析仪将是IRMS的高精度、小型和廉价的单系统替代品，用于定量氢和碳同位素。这项研究的更广泛影响是，通过发展预防医学，通过提供廉价和高性能的同位素分析仪用于临床部署，以及随后在偏远和经济困难的社区进行快速、本地、先进的医学测试和诊断，使稳定同位素能够大规模用作代谢研究和医疗诊断(例如胰岛素抵抗)的示踪剂，从而降低了医疗保健的成本。在用这笔赠款在研究实验室建立GC-C-CRDS分析仪后，Picarro打算将其存在扩展到医院、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.