For immediate release
September 28, 2007

Principal Investigator:
Steven A. Hayes, PhD
BellBrook Labs
5500 Nobel Drive, Suite 250
Madison, WI 53711
866-313-7881
steve.hayes@bellbrooklabs.com

BellBrook Labs awarded SBIR Grant to further develop Arrayed Microfluidic Device

 The National Cancer Institute has awarded BellBrook Labs a $870,000 SBIR Phase II grant (R44CA133909) to continue development work on the platform technology of an arrayed microfluidic device for reconstituted tissue assays. Cellular assays with greater predictive capacity, more complex cell modeling and higher throughput are greatly needed in the drug discovery industry and in biomedical research in general. This grant enables BellBrook Labs to continue to develop a device that will provide more biologically representative cellular assays for breast cancer. The major features of this device are:

Two fully assayable cellular compartments The proposed devices will use laminar flow to create distinct adjacent cellular compartments representing the stroma and epithelia.

3D extracellular matices The proposed devices feature cells embedded in three dimensional matrices which allows recapitulation of complex cellular processes.

Fully compatible with existing liquid handling automation The incorporation of 'droplet-based passive pumping' allows arrays of assays to be completely automated using liquid handling robotics, dramatically increasing throughput without further investment in specialized liquid handling equipment.

BellBrook Labs develops high throughput screening tools that accelerate the discovery of more effective therapies. The Microconduit Array technology is a line of unique microscale devices that allow easy miniaturization and automation of complex biological assays.

Contact us at 866.313.7881 or info@bellbrooklabs.com for more information or to order the Transcreener UGT Far Red Assay.

Biology at Work