(Investigator?s Abstract): This application requests funds to purchase a liquid handling and nucleic acid preparation robot that represents part of a coordinated plan to build a superior Core Facilities for Gene Therapy and Gene Expression analysis at The Weill Medical College of Cornell University. These shared facilities will provide Cornell and affiliated faculty with the technology to analyze gene expression by array methods and the technology of gene therapy from basic research to clinical trials. Based on time utilization studies of the initial users of the Gene Therapy Core Facility, we have determined that routine repetitive operations of molecular biology use an inordinate amount of the time of skilled technicians and are prone to error when done in large numbers. The BioRobot 3000 represents a flexible and versatile system that can readily be used by a number of researchers for sample preparation with high throughput and reproducibility. A group of five major or and three minor investigators with extensive research support, primarily from NIH sources, have been identified as the initial users of the gene expression gene therapy cores and represent the users of the equipment. Among the intended applications are routine preparation of plasmid DNA, genomic DNA and RNA preparation from in vitro cell culture and in vivo studies of gene transfer, and PCR reaction setup. In the context of the gene expression core, the plasmid preparation and post-PCR clean up applications will be used to provide raw material for spotting arrays. In the overall organizational structure and facilities of the Gene Therapy Core Facility provide the location, permanent management and oversight mechanisms that ensures the optimal use of the instrument.
