EU project to develop primary cell transfection devices
The European Commission has awarded a EUR 2.75 million grant to a project with the aim of developing the first ultra high-throughput (UHT) devices for the delivery and screening of primary cells. The German transfection technology company Amaxa will lead the 36-month project in its quest to develop UHT devices that can effectively deliver genetic material such as DNA or siRNA (small interfering RNA) into primary cells. The devices will be used to study immunology, neurology and liver disorders. According to Amaxa, gene transfer technologies are crucial tools for studying gene regulation and gene silencing, as well as for altering cells so that they produce biological drugs. The company has developed a transfection technique based on electroporation, which opens up pores into the cells, through which biological material can enter the cells. 'You combine the cells and the target molecules with specific buffers in an electrical field and apply a high voltage for a few milliseconds and this drives the siRNA or DNA through the cell membrane and into the cells,' explains Dr Claus-Dietmar Pein, Amaxa's Marketing Director. Dr Pein believes that in addition to using the technology in drug discovery, it could also find application in locating the best cell lines or genes for producing biological drugs. 'Amaxa is the only institution worldwide which has the necessary knowledge and experience to adapt the technical needs of device development to the conditions used for efficient transfection of primary cells and hard-to-transfect cell lines,' says Dr Birgit Nelsen-Salz, coordinator of MODEST-EU. 'As coordinators of the project we will ensure that the expertise brought by each partner will enable the collaboration to achieve the goal of providing powerful new tools for basic research and drug discovery,' she added.
Countries
Germany