This application requests funds to purchase a dedicated high throughput chromatography system (GE Healthcare AKTAxpress MAb) to automate and standardize the purification of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). The instrument will be housed and operated by the Vanderbilt Monoclonal Antibody Core (VMAC) in support of several major Vanderbilt users, including the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC), two Special Programs of Research Excellence (Gastrointestinal and Breast Cancer SPOREs), the Zebrafish and Xenopus Consortia, and a wide spectrum of research programs within the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) that use the VMAC to generate and purify mAbs for NIH-sponsored research. The vast majority of these users are involved in cancer- or other health-related research efforts. Over the past ten years, Vanderbilt has built one of the finest Core Facility Networks in the country. Enormous success in discovery areas such as proteomics, mass spectrometry, and targeted therapeutics (see Research Programs and Shared Resources in appendix) has lead to an explosion in demand for VMAC services. In turn, a critical bottleneck has developed with respect to our ability to provide purified antibodies for our major users. Substantial improvement in both throughput and quality control are necessary to meet the increased overall demand and the higher standards associated with therapeutic applications. The requested equipment will meet these needs and free up time of key personnel for efforts that cannot be readily automated. Importantly, the savings in a single year to NIH-funded researchers (over $500,000) could significantly exceed the entire yearly budget for the VMAC facility. Monoclonal antibodies are critically important tools in a broad range of research and clinical applications used to study and treat cancer. A key role of the VMAC is to accelerate progress in multiple areas of health and cancer research by making these crucial reagents inexpensive, easy to make, and readily available to the Vanderbilt research and healthcare community. The instrument described in this application is central to this mission. ? ? ?
