Cambridge, MA, July 30, 2002—BioTrove, Inc. today announced completion of a study demonstrating the
Living Chip™ technology for ultra high throughput screening of
genetic diversity. The Living Chip-25K™ is a high-throughput screening
tool that allows about 25,000 nanoliter-volume reactions to be initiated
and monitored simultaneously. One operator can perform as many as one
million nanoliter-volume assays per day using a minimum of automation.
In the validation experiment, a mutagenized Bacillus library was screened
by processing over 40 pairs of nanoplates for discovery of mutant strains
with high protease expression. Each nanoplate is a high-density array
of 24,576 isolated reaction containers in the same footprint as a standard
microplate and each reaction container holds 35 nanoliters of fluid. Cells
from the library were loaded onto a nanoplate at a density such that there
is on average one cell clone in each container. A second nanoplate is
loaded with a fluorescently-labeled substrate and stacked onto the cell
colony plate to initiate protease hydrolysis in each reaction container
of the array in a simultaneous and massively parallel manner. The stacked
plates are imaged and the high activity mutants are robotically cherry-picked
for further analysis. Up to one million diversity assays can be performed
by one scientist per day resulting in a tremendous increase in efficiency
and productivity. “We are very pleased with the outcome of this study
as a validation of our technology for diversity discovery”, says
Dr. Tom Morrison, Director of Biomolecular Discovery. Dr. Morrison added,
“We plan to apply the technology to the discovery and optimization
of high-value biomolecules such as antibodies, peptides and enzymes.”
About BioTrove:
BioTrove Inc. is a privately held, biotechnology company focused on leveraging
revolutionary micro- and nano-scale engineering solutions to overcome
current bottlenecks in pharmaceutical drug discovery and biotechnology.
BioTrove has two core nanofluidic platforms: the Living Chip™ and
the Lab-on-a-Tape™. BioTrove offers integrated library storage and
screening services based on the core technology as well as advanced instrumentation
to partners.
Acknowledgement of ATP Funding: Development of the Living Chip technology
has been funded in part by an award from the Advanced Technology Program
(ATP). The Advanced Technology Program, managed by the National Institute
of Standards and Technology, provides cost-shared funding to industry
for high-risk R&D projects with the potential to spark important,
broad-based economic benefits for the United States. The awards are made
on the basis of a rigorous peer-reviewed selection process. For more information,
consult the ATP web site, www.atp.nist.gov.
For more information contact:
Colin Brenan, President and
Chief Executive Officer
Robert Hess, V.P. Business Development
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