May 09, 2012 -- Nextval, a San Diego based high-throughput bioanalytical technology company, has received an SBIR Phase II grant to further develop and commercialize a groundbreaking technology for high-throughput, cost-effective screening and analysis. Nextval’s new high-throughput screening system is a novel integration of a nanoliter volume acoustic dispense device* with chip-based mass spectrometry. This system produces high-density microarrays that are analyzed with mass spectrometry imaging and computational algorithms. This technology fills the gap between routine generation of high-diversity chemical libraries with molecular genetics and combinatorial chemistry approaches, and the ability to rapidly screen those libraries for high-value molecules.
Phase II efforts will focus on a high-throughput screening product for cellulase enzyme discovery, a critical enzyme in the production of alternative fuels. Currently, screens are limited by traditional optically based detection systems that may generate false leads. Nextval’s integrated high-throughput platform does not require sample labeling, is applicable to a broad range of chemical activities, and provides much more information from a single readout than current approaches. Phase II development will produce a commercial screening technology with these advantages while maintaining the flexibility for future applications. Analysis throughput using this technology is estimated at 250,000 samples per week.
According to Dr. Matthew Greving, Nextval co-founder, the broader impact and commercial potential of this project are cost-effective high-throughput discovery of new enzymes and molecules with enhanced or novel activities in the industrial, environmental, pharmaceutical or diagnostic markets. The proposed technology enables entirely new types of high-throughput screens that are currently inaccessible with existing technologies. Additional plans for Phase II development beyond the alternative fuels market will be a flexible discovery platform that will be applicable to a number of commercial markets.
*Acoustic dispensing provided by EDC/ BioSero
For additional information please contact:
Tom Gilman
Director of Business Development
Nextval, INC
4186 Sorrento Valley Blvd, Suite G
San Diego, CA 92121
Main Phone: (858) 863-NEXT (6398)
www.nextval.com
