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Automated Purification of Blood or Bacterial Genomic DNA--MacConnell Research Corporation, 11339 Sorrento Valley Road B, San Diego, CA 92121-1303; 619-452-2603
Dr. William P. MacConnell, Principal Investigator
Dr. William P. MacConnell, Business Official
DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-98ER82612
Amount: $640,701
The isolation of the genomic DNA from blood, bacteria and virus is a necessary starting point for molecular diagnosis of infection, genetic disease, inherited traits, identity determination and other research applications. Rapidity and reproducibility in isolating DNA from blood and other bodily samples is required in identifying, characterizing, and treating human disease and disorders. This process needs to be automated by means that are affordable to clinical and research labs. This project will develop a fully automatic, high-throughput, blood or bacteria genomic DNA isolation instrument. The instrument uses a derivative of electrophoretic separation technology developed for purification of plasmid DNA. During Phase I, the electrophoretic purification technique was optimized, an accurate set of product specifications was prepared, and a prototype instrument was constructed for automating the overall method. Phase II will shorten the running time for the genomic DNA separation procedure and increase the purity of the genomic DNA. Actual commercializable instruments will be constructed, software to control these instruments will be written, and an injection mold for producing the processing cassettes will be constructed. Lastly, the method will be tested on a variety of tissue, blood, and specimen samples.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The products developed in this work will be commercialized in the form of instruments and supplies sold for genomic DNA isolation. These products can be marketed to the 25,000 laboratories in the US that perform molecular biology research and have a growing need for automation.