Objective This project is based on the observation that the electrophoresis step in sequencing is a major bottleneck and a considerable financial burden of genome biomedical project. It is aimed at constructing a prototype capillary array sequencer with significantly increased output and decreased operation cost, as compared with slab-gel sequencers. Capillary electrophoresis combines the following advantages as compared with slab-gels: - Capability of sustaining higher field strengths, leading to shorter separation times- Easy automation of separation matrix replacement and sample loading - Miniaturization, allowing a larger number of samples to be studied. To fully benefit from this potential, however, problems remain to be solved, because capillary electrophoresis is a much more recent technique than slab-gels. In particular, the sequencing experiments performed in capillaries up to now suffered from the short lifetime of gels cast in capillaries, which renders the operating cost prohibitive, from serious band-compression problems, and from detection methods with an insufficient sensitivity/output rate. The team will overcome these limitations, by an integrated interdisciplinary approach combining competences in biology, chemistry, chemical physics and instrumentation. The project will focus on low operation cost, high automation and robustness for routine operation, and reduce risks by exploring options on a small scale before fixing them for the full-scale prototype. It will include in particular the following innovative approaches: - - The synthesis of new acrylamido monomers, yielding sieving matrices with longer lifetime and better resistance to hydrolysis- - "Intelligent" new sieving matrices based on associating polymers, which can be switched from liquidlike behaviour (for automated replacement of used sieving medium) to gellike behaviour (for good separation properties)- - A new reporter chemistry using lanthanides, for better signal/noise ratio - - The use of pulsed-field capillary electrophoresis to increase the size range separable at high fields - - A new technology for mass production of very-low-cost capillary arrays- - An original detection scheme based on imaging techniques, well adapted to massively parallel acquisition Fields of science natural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsDNAsocial sciencessociologyindustrial relationsautomationnatural sciencesphysical sciencesmolecular and chemical physicsnatural scienceschemical scienceselectrochemistryelectrophoresisnatural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsgenomes Programme(s) FP4-BIOMED 2 - Specific research, technological development and demonstration programme in the field of biomedicine and health, 1994-1998 Topic(s) 5.1 - Gene mapping and analysis Call for proposal Data not available Funding Scheme CSC - Cost-sharing contracts Coordinator Institut Curie EU contribution No data Address 11,Rue Pierre et Marie Curie 75005 Paris France See on map Total cost No data Participants (5) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE France EU contribution No data Address Rue Georges Clémenceau Université de Paris-Sud 15 91406 ORSAY See on map Total cost No data MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN E.V. Germany EU contribution No data Address Ihnestrasse 73 14195 BERLIN See on map Total cost No data ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Sweden EU contribution No data Address Teknikringen 30 100 44 STOCKHOLM See on map Total cost No data THE MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY United Kingdom EU contribution No data Address Chester Street John Dalton Building M1 5GD Manchester See on map Total cost No data THE UNIVERSITY OF MILANO Italy EU contribution No data Address LITA, Via Fratelli Cervi 93 20090 SEGRATE See on map Total cost No data