Cell & Enzyme Screening

Functional FACS

Cancer & Residual Disease Diagnosis

Antibody Engineering

Drug Formulation

Industrial Enzyme Development

Therapeutic Enzyme Development

On-chip Synthesis & Screening

RNAi Screening

Ethanol Development

 

On-chip Synthesis & Screening
PLS

RainDance Technologies (RDT) has combined droplet technology with microfluidics to enable a large number of analytical reactions (>105/min) to take place using extremely low volumes of drugs or reagents in microscopic NanoReactors™. The Professional Laboratory System™ (PLS) is an automated, compact fluid handling platform that enables powerful new protocols directed at on-chip synthesis of large libraries of drugable compounds that can be quickly screened against target cells or enzymes. RDT works with strategic partners to accelerate development of this application based on the specific interests of its collaborators.

PLS Benefits

RDT distinguishes itself from conventional combinatorial and high-throughput synthesis techniques by executing on-demand synthesis of single-use chemical libraries, eliminating the need for compound handling and storage. On-chip control over the input of the synthetic components enables the rapid synthesis of both diverse and focused libraries. NanoReactor™ technology lends itself to reiterative synthesis/screening protocols for optimizing biological activity and pharmacokinetic properties in parallel simultaneous assays which can target enzymes or cells.

  • Entirely automated process combines the functionality of multiple devices
  • Quick and low cost trial synthesis of millions of potentially pharmacologically active compounds
  • Multiple drug libraries can be screened against each other in a combinatorial manner
  • Droplet encapsulation of microbes allows for screening of secreted targets
  • Unique carrier oil allows for the encapsulation and growth of viable cells
  • Many testable variables like pH, conductivity, salt concentration, temperature and light
PLS Features
Chips for synthesis and screening are configured using fluid management modules that control the continuous flow of thousands of individual NanoReactors™ per second.
  • Sample Loading -- The loading modules inject emulsified libraries of synthesis compounds into the chip where they are precisely combined and mixed in individual NanoReactors™
  • Off-chip Incubation -- For long incubations, microdroplets are stored off-chip and easily reloaded without leakage or cross-contamination due to proprietary surfactants and neutral charged droplets.
  • On-chip Incubation -- NanoReactors™ are incubated on-chip under controlled conditions for precise intervals that can range from less than a second to hours.
  • Optical Readouts -- A variety of optical detection methods including fluorescence detection, fluorescence polarization, and light scattering can be used to screen and sort the NanoReactors™

On-Chip Synthesis Schematic

Chip architecture for on-chip synthesis and screening