Innovations in functionality and manufacturability of IsoRaft Arrays

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cell Microsystems is a North Carolina-based start-up biotechnology company whose mission is to commercialize a novel, yet affordable, platform for the efficient isolation of viable, single cells or colonies from a mixed population while the cell/colony remains adherent or encapsulated to a solid surface. The company's IsoRaft technology is based on a unique cell array recently developed at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, and represents an ideal opportunity for the translation of an academic technology to the marketplace through the SBIR program. Cell Microsystems has obtained license from UNC to commercialize the technology for a broad market in academic labs, as well as in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. The products consist of disposable microarray (the IsoRaftTM Array) for culturing cells and a simple device for isolating the cell/colony of interest. Prototypes of arrays and devices have been completed and are being tested in a number of academic labs as an Early Adoption Program (EPA) at nearby research institutes. In this Phase I SBIR proposal, improvements will be made in the IsoRaft array that address feedback from our market needs analysis that will also dramatically improve the manufacturability of the array. Particularly we will institute new materials and a method of manufacture that will enable commercial fabrication of a flat, transparent, biocompatible array of micro-molded elements. The use IsoRaft technology for cell culture, imaging and isolation applications will be conducted by our academic collaborator at UNC. Our goal is to expand the use of this technology for cell research to the large community in the life science market. The studies in Phase I will deliver a 2nd generation consumable array that can be mass manufactured to provide a flexible, powerful, yet cost-effective means to perform unique cloning and sorting experiments at significant reductions in cost and time.