We are requesting funds for a Bio-Rad Laboratories Bio-Plex Workstation and Software (Suspension Array) system to provide a multiplex system to facilitate simultaneous analysis of up to 100 different biomolecules (proteins, peptides or nucleic acids) in a single microplate reader. The multiplex platform integrates xMAP(R) technology and Luminex200"""""""" from Luminex Corporation to enable discrete bioassays on the surface of color coded beads (either polystyrene or magnetic). Reagents may include antigens, antibodies, oligonucleotides, enzyme substrates or receptors and thus can provide quantitative information of multiple analytes in small volumes for experimental (animal and human) or cell culture analyte profiling, signal transduction profiling and transcriptional profiling. The multiplex analysis system (Bio-Plex) will be used to support a group of 13 investigators in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health (EOH). The rationale for this request includes: a) EOH is an extensive recruitment phase with an emphasis on contemporary environmental health science that greatly has increased the utilization of molecular biological approaches in experimental models in genetically modified mice including quantitative trait locus approaches towards gene-environment interactions, mammalian cell culture and human subjects;b) EOH recently relocated to a new contemporary research building (Thermo-Fisher Building) in the Bridgeside Point Site (100 Technology Drive) that is >3.0 miles from the major cluster of Bio-Plex instruments (n=5) at University Pittsburgh Cancer Institute;and our current collaborators at Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh;c) there is only one Bio-Plex instrument nearby (Clinical Pharmacology) and this is dedicated to a large pharmacogenomic effort and was not configured to accommodate the entire needs of our department;d) Bio-Plex will be a valuable platform for the training of pre- and postdoctoral students in environmental health sciences;e) the versatility (proteins and nucleic acids) of Bio-Plex will assure that it conforms to predicted future needs of serving as a critical interface with other discrete high throughput screening;f) the short scanning time of the instrument enhances its multiuser capability by allowing more time consuming analysis to be done in individual laboratories and the multiuser software components will facilitate off site data analysis further simplifying multiuser access. The Bio-Plex platform is capable of assaying a wide range of biomolecules including proteins and nucleic acids and as such applications can include immunoassays, enzyme assays, receptor ligand interactions and signal transduction assays as well as transcription factor profiling. We anticipate extensive initial use in animal model serum and cell culture model analyte profiling and expanding use in signal transduction network profiling and transcription factor profiling.
The acquisition of Bio-Plex for 13 sponsored investigators in EOH will greatly facilitate existing funded research in environmental health related to respiratory, cardiovascular and central nervous system function. The ability to make multiple measurements of protein and nucleic acids in a small volume will greatly enhance the integrated nature of virtually all experiments and allow for considerably more meaningful results to emerge.
