Grant: Strategic Projects - Group

Therapeutic antibodies (Abs) are used to treat a variety of diseases, from cancer to infectious disease. They are a new and rapidly-expanding class of drug in today's pharmaceutical market, with a single drug generating up to $5B/year. A limiting step in discovery of Abs against a targeted, disease-associated molecule is the screening process. In a labor intensive step, thousands of Ab-secreting cell (ASC) clones are generated, and their Abs screened for binding to the targeted molecule. ASCs whose Ab binds to the targeted molecule are then used to generate cell lines that will produce the Ab in large quantities. We propose to demonstrate a new type of biosensor for monitoring, in real time, the Abs produced by thousands of live ASCs, so as to identify those that bind targeted, disease-associated molecules. The project combines the expertise of university researchers at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and the University of Victoria (UVic) with our industrial partner, Cangene Corp. (Manitoba). The goals of the project fall squarely within the NSERC Strategic Target Area: "Biomedical Technology" and in particular, the demonstration of a cost-effective, low-maintenance device for sensing dynamic cellular events in a living system. The new sensor is based on the modification in the transmission of light through a nanostructure, by the biological products from individual cells. The nanostructure is an array of nanoscale holes fabricated in a gold film located adjacent to an individual ASC. The ASCs are manipulated and trapped in vitro via microfluidics technology. Abs produced by living ASCs will attach to sites on the gold film resulting in a change in surface light generation and transmission. If successful this technology will enhance the discovery of therapeutic Abs manufactured by Cangene and other companies involved in this burgeoning area of the pharmaceutical industry.