Automated Immunoblotting Technology
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: The last decade has seen numerous proteins touted as ‘disease biomarkers’. Sobering recent analyses point out that few of these proteins are rigorously assessed to determine true diagnostic potential. In short, out-dated laboratory instrumentation makes addressing the question “is this protein a good maker of disease?” difficult and cumbersome to address. For example, in Alzheimer’s Disease new, improved ways to study the tau protein could aid in early diagnosis or even improved treatment of the disorder. To achieve this biomedical vision, new tools are needed for optimized high-throughput measurement of targeted proteins in scores of clinical samples. In the proposed work, we develop a fast, automated instrument for studying proteins suspected of disease-relevance. Our technology relies on miniature “labs-on-a-chip” in an analogous manner to reliance of electronic equipment on miniaturized electrical circuits (“chips”). Here we manipulate tiny volumes of fluid to achieve rapid measurements. Our new protein measurement technology combines the best performance features of state-of-the-art benchtop tools with the advantages of microfluidic manipulation. Key hurdles that we overcome with the innovation proposed include: i) Slow assay speed – conventional instruments typically require 1 full day to complete, 2) Intensive labor requirements – a trained researcher or technologist is needed to complete the assay, 3) Semi-quantitative results, 4) Disjoint assay platform – several incompatible formats are needed to complete the workflow, yielding an assay that requires a fully equipped research laboratory facility to complete, and 5) Voracious reagent consumption – large sample &amp; reagent volumes (&gt; 10 uL) needed to complete conventional measurements. Importantly, use of microfabrication technology allows creation of electrical chips, aids our work in creation of “plug-and-play” laboratory tests in chip formats. Success in the proposed work would foster important new research at UC Berkeley in collaboration with a California-based company (Bio-Rad Laboratories) in the critical biotechnology and biomedical sectors. That success would have tremendous positive ramifications on California’s biotechnology laboratories, and in the human therapeutics and diagnostics sectors, agricultural products sectors, specialty products and non-medical diagnostics sectors, and the medical and point-of-care diagnostics sectors. To provide context for the anticipated impact of the work, nearly 40 percent of all US public biotechnology companies (not including biomedicine) are in California. The state is also home to more than 40 percent of all employment in the biotechnology sector. Moreover, nearly half of all venture capital support for new biotechnology innovation is allocated to California firms, and nearly half of all research and development spending in the sector occurs in California. Consequently, we posit that the proposed research would have a major econ