(provide by applicant) Research and drug development in the pharmaceutical industry rely heavily upon separation science, particularly in this era of High Throughput genomic and proteomic analyses. Chromatographic methods used today separate proteins from other molecules by interactions with a solid porous support Solutes and solvent flowing through a chromatographic column of porous media prefer the path of least resistance and flow around the particles, rather than the tortuous pathway through the narrow pores where the functional chemistry is located. This leads to slow adsorption-desorption kinetics, band spreading, and loss of resolution. This Phase I Research was successful in literally turning this problem inside out, by synthesizing composite materials consisting of nonporous particles with """"""""spider webs"""""""" of functional ligands crossing the interstitial spaces between the particles.
The Specific Aims of this Research are to synthesize a series of composite chromatography columns with functional groups immobilized by extended tethers that place the functional molecule thousands of Angstroms from the surface of the solid support. Prototype products will be developed for the High Throughput Chromatography of a variety of proteins in both a column format and in a parallel plate format that will perform separations in a few seconds.
The composite materials developed in this Research will find commercial use for High Throughput Chromatographic separations and bioassays. Corporate partners will assist ChelaTech in evaluating the performance and the market competitiveness of the prototype products developed in Phase II. The sale and deployment of these products to the pharmaceutical and healthcare research industries will enable cost reductions, enhanced accuracy, and productivity increases in research to cure human disease.
