This proposal requests funds for the purchase of an integrated robotic assay platform to perform chemical, biochemical and cellular assays with optical detection in small volumes with high sensitivity. The robotic assay platform consists of a liquid handling robot to prepare and dispense assays in 6-well to 1536-well SBS format plates and a high sensitivity multi-mode, optical plate reader. Key features of the Mantis (Formulatrix) liquid handling robot are the ability to dispense volumes as low as 100 nL with high precision and reproducibility using a microfluidic chip with excellent chemical compatibility. The use of microfluidics results in minimal waste of costly reagents and overcomes the need for consumables such as pipette tips. Key features of the multi-mode plate reader (PHERAstar) include a broad range of optical detection modalities (absorption, fluorescence (FL), anisotropy, FRET, BRET, TR-FRET, Luminescence) with simultaneous dual wavelength detection, exceptional sensitivity for low volume, sample conserving detection in 6-well to 3456-well SBS plate format. Integration of the instruments is routine and does not affect the warranty of either instrument. The robotic assay platform is controlled via a single controller computer with flexible and easy to program software. Currently, there is no instrument available at Stony Brook University or another nearby institution to perform assays in comparable small volumes, high throughput and high reproducibility as made possible by this platform. The robotic assay platform will enable a broad variety of in vivo and in vitro assays for drug-lead development efforts and biological characterization with a throughput of about 10,000 assays per day. Furthermore, the platform will allow the participating researchers to develop and optimize such assays with the highest sensitivity of detection and high precision and reproducibility of liquid handling. Management and operation of the system will be provided by a technical specialist, who will also assist users in developing assays, as well as helping investigators in the analysis of the assay data.
Title: Robotic Assay Platform PROJECT NARRATIVE Our NIH-funded research encompasses various aspects of drug development, structural biology, biochemistry, biophysics, physical chemistry, computational biology and pharmacology. The instrument described in this application will enable us to chemical, biochemical and cellular assays with optical detection with high reproducibility.
