Acquisition of a 96-channel high-throughput biolayer interferometry instrument

About This Grant

PROJECT SUMMARY This proposal seeks to acquire a RH96 Octet – a next-generation, high-throughput bio-layer interferometer (BLI HTS) for biomolecular interaction studies. BLI HTS is a “96-channel” instrument that allows quantitative measurements of protein-protein and protein-small molecule interactions of up to 96 samples simultaneously. It uses small sample volumes, and the ease of use allows researchers with broad scientific expertise to use the instrument for high-throughput screening of interactors such as proteins, antibodies, and small molecules. There is an urgent unmet need for this instrument, as there is no high-throughput BLI instrument in the entire Midwest region. We have identified 14 NIH-funded researchers whose work and progress is severely limited due to the absence of this instrument. They often travel to out-of-state institutions or use the 2-channel BLI instrument currently available at Northwestern; clearly, neither option is a long term solution. The 2-channel instrument is not amenable to high-throughput data collection and requires large sample volumes, impeding drug discovery and screening efforts. Moreover, the data collection on the 2-channel is tedious even for single protein-protein interaction studies when testing multiple concentrations. The proposed instrument will address a significant gap in the instrumentation available at Northwestern University and will be beneficial not just to the Northwestern community but the entire Midwest area. We propose to add the BLI HTS to the Northwestern High-throughput Analysis Laboratory, which houses several instruments for high-throughput screening and has full-time staff with the technical expertise to manage and operate the instrument. We anticipate that at least 14 research groups from 6 departments across the College of Arts and Sciences, the Feinberg School of Medicine and the McCormik School of Engineering will utilize this equipment. The availability of this state-of-the-art instrument at Northwestern will be particularly important for drug development efforts and will advance a range of studies aimed at creating therapeutic and diagnostic tools for various human diseases, including cancer, metabolic disorders and neurodegeneration.