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

RNAi Screening

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 screening Individual RNAi fractions, as well as RNAi pairs. RDT works with strategic partners to accelerate development of this application based on the specific interests of its collaborators.

PLS Benefits

RDT’s NanoReactor™ technology provides many unique advantages over current techniques for RNAi screening. The ultra-high throughput capabilities of the PLS allows for multiple RNAi libraries to be screened in combination to inhibit gene expression of two or more genes in an organism simultaneously. Since this form of combinatorial RNAi screening requires that millions of individual screens be run using expensive RNAi elements, it is only feasible using the ultra high throughput screening of picoliter size samples with RDT technology.

• Multiple RNAi libraries can be screened in a combinatorial manner
• Picoliter size droplets significantly reduce reagent usage
• Droplet encapsulation of microbes allows screening for secreted targets
• Cells can be lysed within droplets to investigate full array of cellular material
• Unique carrier oil allows for the encapsulation and growth of viable cells

PLS Features	Chips for RNAi screening are configured using fluid management modules that control the continuous flow of thousands of individual NanoReactors™ per second. Sample Loading -- The loading module loads single or multiple emulsified RNAi libraries onto the chip where they are combined and mixed with target cells. 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™ Real Time Statistics -- All microdroplets are volumetrically identical, stable, and can be tagged using a proprietary liquid labeling technique, allowing for online statistical analysis.
Chip architecture for RNAi screening