SBIR Phase II: Development of a Miniaturized Multiwell Plate Reader

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是一种仪器，它将缓解目前许多微生物，特别是厌氧和其他挑剔的微生物生长测量中的几个困难。这些物种中有大量是自然存在于人体内的，最近被证明在过敏、自身免疫性疾病、饮食健康、癌症、感染反应等方面发挥着关键作用。对这些物种的研究被许多人认为是现代医学的下一个前沿，特别是在目前管理传染病的方法，如传统抗生素，似乎正在失去效力的情况下。然而，目前的测量技术在很大程度上与厌氧生物必须生长的专门环境和室不相容。对更好的测量厌氧细菌生长的方法的需求还没有得到满足；随着对该领域兴趣的增加，这种需求也在迅速增长。随着对各种人类微生物组的研究加速，以及对大容量数据的需求增长，在专门环境中进行高通量实验的能力将变得至关重要。高通量测量设备的现有市场规模至少为3亿美元，而且还在不断增长。这个平台将允许对细胞培养生长的系统研究，可以轻松和经济地完成。该SBIR二期项目建议开发和改进一种小型化的多孔板阅读器，该阅读器可测量多达96个细胞样品的光学特性，以同时测量许多微生物样品的生长。系统和计算生物学的不断发展表明对大量定量数据的需求不断增长，而与人体相关的各种微生物需要这样的方法。然而，由于当前仪器的复杂性、尺寸和成本，这些测量技术并不是普遍可用的。该项目将继续开发一种称为多孔板读取器的小型简化版设备，将平行生长测量（和其他指标）的可用性扩展到更广泛的研究人员和环境中。第一个目标是简化仪器的电子设备，增加一个车载显示器以提高清晰度，并允许电池供电。下一个目标是通过测量空间和时间不同点的各种环境变量，加速对任何周围环境的平衡，使其即使在极端条件下也能正常运行。第三个目标是巩固设备的机械方面的可靠性和稳定性在振动筛。最后，该项目将支持开发一个功能齐全的无线接口，用于控制和数据管理，允许在任何环境下有效地远程使用。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will be an instrument that alleviates several current difficulties in the growth measurement of many microbes, especially anaerobic and other fastidious organisms. A large number of these species are naturally occurring in the human body, and have recently been shown to play critical roles in allergies, autoimmune diseases, dietary health, cancer, infection response, and more. The study of these species is considered by many to be the next frontier of modern medicine, especially as current approaches to managing infectious diseases, such as traditional antibiotics, appear to be losing effectiveness. However, current measurement technology is largely incompatible with the specialized environments and chambers in which anaerobic organisms must be grown. There is a large unmet need for better ways to measure anaerobic bacterial growth; this need is growing quickly as interest in the field increases. The ability to conduct high-throughput experiments in specialized environments will become critical as research into various human microbiomes accelerates, and demand for high-volume data grows. The existing market for high-throughput measurement devices is at least $300 million and growing. This platform will allow for systematic studies of cell culture growth that can be accomplished easily and economically. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to develop and refine a miniaturized multi-well plate reader that measures optical characteristics of up to 96 cell samples for measuring growth of many microbial samples simultaneously. The continuing rise of systems and computational biology demonstrates a growing demand for large amounts of quantitative data, and the variety of microbes relevant to the human body necessitates such an approach. However, these measurement techniques are not universally accessible due to current instruments' complexity, size, and cost. This project will continue development of a miniature, simplified version of a device called a multi-well plate reader, expanding the availability of parallel growth measurement (and other metrics) to a wider array of researchers and environments. The first goal is to simplify the instrument's electronics, add an on-board display for clarity, and allow battery-powered operation. The next goal is to accelerate equilibration to any surrounding environment to allow proper functioning even in extreme conditions, by measuring a wide array of environmental variables at different points in space and time. The third goal is to solidify the device's mechanical aspects for reliability and stability in a shaker. Finally, this project will support the development of a fully-functional wireless interface for control and data management, allowing effective remote use in any environment.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.