Environmental Microplates

Wayne State University
posted on 01/16/2012

• request more info 
•   
•  LICENSE ONLINE

There is growing interest in both pharmaceutical and life science research to understand the role of physical stimuli in biological systems.  Existing technology limits the variety of unique environmental conditions that can be introduced to a biological system at any given time.  Furthermore, commercially available microplates only allow for the screening of chemical stimuli, such as the effect of reagents (e.g., drug or reporter molecule) on a target (e.g., cell proteins).  They do not enable the screening of environmental stimuli.

A Wayne State University researcher has developed a working prototype of a microplate for use in biological research that allows the user to vary physical conditions in each well.  For example, the current design allows the user to introduce different optical stimuli in each well, making in an ideal tool for high-throughput studies in optogenetics and photosynthesis research.  The stimuli could be steady state or time-varying.  Further development of the microplate can include the ability to vary other physical conditions in each well, such as temperature, electrical, or mechanical stimuli. 

The environmental microplate allows researchers to quickly and systematically study the effect of environment of biological systems.  Current collaborations in the Biological Sciences are allowing researchers to perform 96 simultaneous experiments investigating the impact of light in lipid production and cell growth.  These experiments can be completed in 1-2 weeks, whereas existing technology would require 2 years to complete.  Such technology allows for drastic savings in cost and time.

Commercial Applications:

·         Pharmaceutical and life science research, especially optogenetics and photosynthesis

·         Study the role of physical stimuli (e.g. optical, temperature, electrical, or mechanical stimuli)  in biological systems.

Technological Benefits:

·         Simultaneously perform experiments each with different physical stimuli

·         Drastic savings in cost and time

Patent Status:

Patent pending