A Robotic Laboratory Workstation to Expand the Capabilities of a Toxin Biosensor
Abstract
We propose to purchase a state-of-the-art laboratory automation workstation to perform highthroughput engineering of synthetic microbial strains to vastly expand the capabilities of a DoD funded biosensor. This instrument will support DoD sponsored research efforts by several labs at UCSD involved in biosensor development, will accelerate progress on a DoD Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) related to dynamic artificial cells, and will greatly strengthen and facilitate the education of students with respect to both projects. The biosensor platform that we are currently developing for the DoD will house 2,000 strains of S. cerevisiae and E. coli and will detect many toxins of concern to national security. The current design will make use of existing GFP libraries in these two species, in which each gene is paired with a GFP reporter. These strains will be patterned on a microfluidic device, and the pattern of responses from the fluorescent strains will be used to identify the presence and concentration of target toxins. While this approach will likely be successful in detecting many agents of interest, an expanded effort to include other species in which such libraries do not exist will vastly increase the number and types of water-borne agents that we can detect. In order to transform and characterize the response of new species, we will require a robotic laboratory workstation with the ability to perform highthroughput liquid handling in a highly customizable fashion. The proposed system will accelerate current DoD supported research programs while providing students and postdoctoral researchers with an opportunity to obtain highly valuable education related to working with state-of-the-art laboratory technology.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 07, 2018
- Source ID
- W911NF1710143
Entities
People
- Jeff Hasty
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of California, San Diego