Controlled Ethanol Cell Culture System

描述(由申请人提供)：控制原代和培养细胞对乙醇的暴露是目前用于治疗酒精依赖和酒精滥用等酒精使用障碍的生物分子水平研究的一个重要实验方面。预计这项研究的结果将为这些昂贵和令人衰弱的疾病提供更好的预防和治疗方式。研究正在进行中，以加强我们对酒精依赖和滥用的起源、对酒精的耐受性、胎儿酒精综合征和酒精使用造成的器官损害的了解。乙醇的高挥发性需要一种实验装置，以便准确、方便地控制乙醇水平。因此，拟议计划的总体目标是开发受控乙醇细胞培养实验的设备并将其商业化，并证明其在这一重要医学研究领域的适用性。Giner，Inc.凭借其在乙醇传感器、工程系统和细胞培养应用方面的专业知识，是唯一有资格设计这种研究工具的公司，该工具可以加强细胞生物学家、生理学家和神经生物学家等科学家进行的基础研究。在第一阶段，Giner，Inc.计划开发一种系统，在设计用于容纳细胞培养皿的室内精确控制乙醇(50-800 mg/dl)。这一新系统将用于标准细胞培养孵化器，将包括一个电化学乙醇传感器，一种改变乙醇浓度的方法，以及一个调节乙醇浓度的反馈控制系统。与目前使用的技术相比，第一阶段的原型将为所有研究人员提供显著改进的乙醇控制技术。在第二阶段，第一阶段的原型将被提炼、包装并在细胞培养应用中进行测试。此外，在第二阶段，将设计和实施先进的控制系统，这将在原代细胞或培养细胞系快速代谢乙醇的研究中特别有用，因此乙醇浓度的调节更加复杂。 经济影响/商业潜力。拟议的受控乙醇细胞培养系统将成为酒精研究界的专业研究设备。这些系统将提高酒精相关疾病研究的有效性，从长远来看，这将对医疗保健和国家生产力产生巨大的经济影响。该系统可以通过Giner公司为个人研究人员生产定制系统而商业化使用。对于更广泛的商业分销，这项技术可以通过专门从事专业研究设备的公司进行分销。如果将该系统改装成在毒理学测试中与其他挥发性化合物一起使用，以及将乙醇传感器仅用于工业应用，可能会产生额外的商业潜力。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Controlled exposure of primary and cultured cells to ethanol is an important experimental aspect of current biomolecular level research for the treatment of alcohol use disorders such as alcohol dependence and alcohol abuse. The results of this research are expected to provide greatly improved modalities of prevention and treatment for these expensive and debilitating conditions. Research is ongoing to enhance our understanding of the origins of alcohol dependence and abuse, tolerance for alcohol, fetal alcohol syndrome, and organ damage from alcohol use. The high volatility of ethanol necessitates an experimental set-up that gives accurate, convenient control of ethanol levels. Thus, the overall goal of the proposed program is to develop and commercialize equipment for controlled ethanol cell culture experiments and to demonstrate its applicability in this important area of medical research. Giner, Inc. with its expertise in ethanol sensors, engineering systems, and cell culture applications is uniquely qualified to engineer this research tool that can enhance the fundamental research conducted by scientists such as cell biologists, physiologists, and neurobiologists. In Phase I, Giner, Inc. proposes to develop a system that will accurately control ethanol (50-800 mg/dl) in a chamber designed to hold cell culture dishes. The novel system, to be used inside a standard cell culture incubator, will include an electrochemical ethanol sensor, a method of modifying ethanol concentration, and a feedback control system to regulate the ethanol concentration. The Phase I prototype will provide a substantially improved ethanol control technique for all researchers compared to the techniques in current use. In Phase II, the Phase I prototype will be refined, packaged and tested in cell culture applications. In addition, in Phase II, an advanced control system will be designed and implemented that will be especially useful in research where the primary cell or cultured cell line metabolizes ethanol rapidly, and regulation of ethanol concentration is therefore more complex. Economic Impact/Commercial Potential. The proposed controlled ethanol cell culture systems would be specialty research equipment for the alcohol research community. These systems will improve the effectiveness of research on alcohol-related disease, which in the long term will have a large economic impact on health care and national productivity. The system could be made commercially available with Giner, Inc. producing custom systems for individual researchers. For more widespread commercial distribution, the technology could be distributed through companies that specialize in specialty research equipment. Additional commercial potential could result from modifying the system for use with other volatile compounds in toxicology testing and from adapting just the ethanol sensor for industrial applications.