The ability to transfer exogenous molecules into biological cells is of extraordinary importance in modern cell biology and biotechnology. There is a compelling need to control processes within the cell, to turn on/off cellular functions by incorporating foreign molecules (small molecule inhibitors, drugs, nucleic acids, proteins, etc.) into cells. Although there are many existing techniques, mostly for transfection of genes, there are still great unmet needs for transfection of various molecules in hard-to-transfect adherent cells (such as primary cells, stem cells). This Phase I project will build on technologies licensed from University of California at Berkeley to develop a novel product that employs the patented controlled electroporation and mass transfer techniques (5 US patents) to permit highly effective in situ delivery of virtually any molecules into adherent cells. Not only its performance can largely exceed the existing techniques, this new product will also enable transfection of large molecules such as antibodies, proteins and large genes that can hardly be achieved by the existing techniques. The immediate application of this project will be in the area of gene transfer, which currently has a market of $ 200M in US alone. As this product permits effective transfection of other molecules (e.g., siRNA and antibodies) in primary cells and stem cells, it will create new opportunities in the areas of cancer research, regenerative medicine and drug development. Future adaptation of this product into high throughput formats in Phase II will create more commercial prospects coupled with drug discovery, pre-clinical screening and in vivo gene therapy.
