Laboratory Testing & Automation 2019

Oncologists have many options when tasked with treating a patient’s cancer. Unfortunately, many cancer drugs and therapies come with potentially debilitating side effects. As such, it is essential that a doctor track a patient’s response to therapy and change course as early as possible if the therapy is not effective at eradicating cancer cells.  Precision, personalized tracking of cancer burden is also critical for monitoring patients in remission so that therapy can be restarted the moment the cancer resurfaces.  Digital PCR offers clinicians the necessary tool for absolute quantification and precision tracking of circulating DNA cancer biomarkers. COMBiNATi has developed a novel digital PCR platform consisting of a micro-molded plastic consumable and fully integrated instrument designed to address the specific needs of a routine clinical diagnostic tool.  Using a patient-specific assay we have proven the platform’s ability to precisely track a specific cancer patient’s response to therapy and ultimate transition to complete molecular remission. 

Learning Objectives: 

1. What is meant by "liquid biopsy", "precision cancer monitoring" and "personalized medicine"?  
2. What is digital PCR and how can it be used to track a patient's response to therapy or recurrence?
 

The ultimate limits of diagnostics in biology are the “quantum” units that convey information, e.g. single nucleic acids, proteins, and cells. Microfluidics has emerged as a powerful tool to compartmentalize single cells and molecules into sub-nanoliter droplets as individual bioreactors to enable sensitive detection and analysis down to this quantum limit. However, the current systems for quantum diagnostics have not been widely adopted, partly due to the requirement of specialized instruments and microfluidic chips to generate uniform droplets and perform adequate manipulations.  I will discuss the platforms we are developing to fractionate volumes in simplified, instrument-free ways using 3D-shaped microparticles. Each “lab-on-a-particle” can be analyzed using widely available flow cytometers. These new lab-on-a-particle reagents eliminate the need for specialized new equipment for microfluidic compartmentalization and readout and promise to democratize single-molecule and single-cell technologies.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Attendee will become familiar with the current approaches and challenges to measure single cells and single molecules and the advantages of fluid compartmentalization.
2. Attendee will be introduced to the concept of lab-on-a-particle technology to perform assays and unique physical underpinnings of these systems.
 

In this seminar, Dr Elvira will talk about the use of droplet microfluidic technologies for drug discovery. Initially, she will discuss the fundamental concepts of droplet microfluidic technologies, how they work, and how droplets function in terms stability and reproducibility. Dr Elvira will then use specific examples from her own research to highlight how these platforms can be used in the context of drug discovery, such as to enable the rapid and reproducible determination of distribution coefficients, to quantify lipid digestion kinetics, and for the formation of droplet interface bilayers, which are very simple artificial cells.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Explain the fundamental characteristics of droplet microfluidic technologies 
2. Describe some of the types of applications of microfluidic platforms for drug discovery

Computer vision (CV) has seen rapid growth in many industries, including the life sciences with high-content cell imaging and phenotypic assays.  However, many biomolecular and cellular assays today typically rely on conventional readouts like spectrophotometry, fluorimetry, and luminescence. Bioelectronica is developing an integrated sensing and fluid-actuation platform (“BE-Platform”) that combines CV, a lensless imager, chemical reagents,  and data science approaches to provide researchers and collaborators with a versatile modern tool for biomolecular and cell-based assays in a single instrument.

The BE-platform detects the size, darkness, morphology, and other multi-dimensional features of objects at 5-50 micron length scales.  The generality of this approach enables the BE-platform to perform diverse assays and workflows that traditionally require separate analytical tools. The vision is to provide researchers with a cloud-connected technology that integrates data across multiple assays and multiple sites, allowing new forms of workflow automation. 

This talk will present some of the current capabilities of the BE-platform and their early-stage applications:

1. Enumeration for cell and bead counting.
2. Size/morphology for measuring bead-mediated chemistries, including non-enzymatic reagents used to detect biomarkers in cell-growth media
3. Darkness of beads to a) measure enzyme-linked darkening assays (ELDA), (b) Cell surface markers, and (c) Live/Dead Cell Assays. 

Learning Objectives: 

1. Understand how computer vision (CV) can be applied to molecular and cellular assays.
2. Consider examples of how users may utilize the BE-platform for their own research and application purposes. 

The attractiveness of 3D printing technology in the microfluidic field is growing, specifically stereolithographic (SLA) type 3D printers, owing to their low cost, versatility, fast and easy micro resolution fabrication capability. The traditional microfabrication method doesn’t allow fast device prototyping that is stand-alone and without the needs of laboratory personnel and equipment. This presentation will introduce the 3D printing based microfabrication of microfluidic devices and engage the third-dimensional control of fluids and cells, which can lead to much quicker and more powerful prototyping and discovery in biomedical sensing and tissue engineering. 

Learning Objectives: 

1. obtain knowledge and technique of the state-of-the-art 3D printing employed in making the lab on chip/microfluidic device.
2. Gain scientific insight into the biomedical problems that can be solved using 3D microfluidic technology.

With growing standards of patient care, clinical testing laboratory across the world are forced to change the way they manage their laboratory operations. More focus is now given to automation as an automated laboratory reduces the risk of human error and allows laboratory personnel to concentrate on their core laboratory jobs, thereby saving time and money. Automation of laboratory also helps in end-to-end sample and workflow management, assuring traceability of results and maintaining data integrity by following standard laboratory practices.  

Automating the clinical data management and testing workflows using the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) play a significant role in ensuring faster turnaround time, efficiency, and productivity. Implementation of a LIMS helps laboratories to create a streamlined workflow for following SOPs such as ordering tests, testing procedures, conducting studies etc. to achieve quality clinical outcomes. It enhances the quality and reliability of results. A LIMS can help in full traceability, integrated quality control, and automated results upload from instruments, eliminating transcription errors. Besides, a LIMS following HIPAA, 21 CFR part 11 regulations and GLPs facilitates masking of sensitive personal information based on the role of the user in the organization. It helps to configure electronic signatures for accessing and approving laboratory activities and also maintains an audit trail along with a date and time stamp. 

Learning Objectives: 

1. Understanding the significance of laboratory automation and information management in following SOPs and meeting regulatory compliance.
2. The role of LIMS in improving clinical testing workflows to achieve faster turnaround time, efficiency, and optimal use of resources.

Tissues in the body are wonderfully organized, with specific arrangements of cells, extracellular matrix, secreted molecules, and fluid flow that synergize that create emergent functions. However, many methods for in vitro cell analysis rely on cell cultures with minimal or no spatial organization, making it difficult to reproduce the dynamics found in vivo.  

In this talk, I will introduce the features of working with live, intact samples of ex vivo tissue as a system that is complementary to cell culture, particularly when combined with microfluidics to control the tissue microenvironment. I will give examples of cutting edge devices designed to model local molecular movement through tissue and multi-organ interactions, including a brief case study of a microfluidic model of tumor-induced immunosuppression. Together with methods for real-time imaging and analysis, these technologies offer a host of exciting opportunities to model drug delivery and disease. 

Learning Objectives: 

1. What are the benefits and limitations of studying live tissue in a microfluidic device?
2. How can microfluidics be used to model local drug delivery and multi-tissue communication ex vivo?