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MIST System for Simultaneous Parallel Intracellular Delivery & Transfection

Award Number: R44GM112398
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/05/2014
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2017

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MIST System for Simultaneous Parallel Intracellular Delivery & Transfection - DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Alternative nanomaterial and gene transfer solutions are needed to access the potential held in intracellular imaging, biopharmaceuticals, gene therapy and stem cell research. Delivery of small and macromolecules- including nucleic acids, drug molecules, imaging agents, peptides, antibodies and enzymes-into cells is critical to realizing their full potential in a rnge of research and therapeutic applications. Unfortunately, efficient intracellular delivery and transfection continue to elude researchers working with primary and stem cells in emerging application areas. OpenCell's vision is to create new intracellular delivery tools that enable researchers in emerging application areas to work with "difficult-to-transfect" cells for studies that are not currently possible. Our core technology, the Electrosonic Actuation Microarray (EAM), offers researchers a cost-effective and simple-to-use solution to uniform and scalable treatment of entire cell populations on a cell-by-cell basis. Multple Integrated Sample Treatment (MIST)-the subject of this project proposal-addresses cost and performance deficiencies of available methods by incorporating the innovative features of the EAM technology into a multichannel format. In addition, MIST uniquely streamlines protocol optimization and large-scale screening by evaluating treatment outcomes for multiple experimental conditions, including operating parameters and sample compositions, in parallel. During the Phase I project, a MIST prototype achieved biomolecule delivery performance equal to that of our single-sample STEAM system in a 4-channel format, without cross-contamination between channels. We have recently demonstrated advantages of our core technology for large molecule delivery (including in difficult-to- transfect primary monocytes) and for improving transfection outcomes with combined-mode treatment. It is anticipated that these advantages will carry over to the production MIST system. The primary objectives of this SBIR Phase II project are design, manufacture and characterization o a production-ready MIST instrument. To achieve these objectives, (1) MIST systems with stand-alone electronics and disposable multichannel cartridges for mechanoporation and DNA electrophoresis will be developed, and (2) transfection protocol optimization will be demonstrated, along with a comparison of relevant assessment criteria with our single-sample STEAM system and competing technologies.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2018 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2018	2015	OPENCELL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.	4320 FOREST PARK AVE STE 303	SAINT LOUIS	MO	63108	SAINT LOUIS CITY	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	4	12/18/2017	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2015 ( Subtotal = $419,817 )
2015	2015	OPENCELL TECHNOLOGIES INC	311 FERST DRIVE	ATLANTA	GA	30332	FULTON	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	4	8/17/2015	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$419,817
														Subtotal = $419,817

Issue Date FY: 2014 ( Subtotal = $479,671 )
2014	2014	OPENCELL TECHNOLOGIES INC	311 FERST DRIVE	ATLANTA	GA	30332	FULTON	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	3	8/5/2014	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$479,671
														Subtotal = $479,671

Grand Total All Awards = $899,488

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MIST System for Simultaneous Parallel Intracellular Delivery & Transfection

Award Number: R44GM112398

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/05/2014

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2017

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