Caliper Technologies Corp and Ambion Inc have initiated a research collaboration to develop an RNA amplification system. Funds for the research phase of this product development program will come primarily from a phase II SBIR grant to Ambion for $1.6 million from the NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

The proposed system will include a Caliper microfluidic LabChip device, Ambion's reagent kit and an instrument, which would perform the amplification reactions on the LabChip device. Such a system would be used by researchers conducting gene expression experiments in order to amplify RNA samples prior to performing microarray analysis. Caliper scientists will develop the microfluidic chip, assist with assay development and collaborate with Ambion and a third party in the development of the instrument. Ambion will be primarily involved in the assay development and will optimize reagents and conditions for the chip.

Currently available amplification processes are manually intensive. Additionally, the quantity of sample RNA to be amplified can often be limited. These challenges, which contribute to the time and expense of conventional RNA amplification methods, can also impact the validity of the results. Caliper and Ambion hope to address these inefficiencies by optimizing and automating RNA amplification in a microfluidic environment. The benefits of this approach should include increasing throughput, minimizing sample requirements and achieving a uniformly high level of consistency in the amplified RNA.

"Ambion is the clear leader in research products for RNA analysis, so this relationship is an excellent example of how Caliper's OEM partnership model can facilitate the development of new assay solutions and leverage the two companies' respective technical and commercial strengths to enable compelling products," said Michael Knapp, Caliper's Chief Executive Officer. "Microfluidics is the only existing technology which can cost-effectively standardize and automate this complex, multi-step process. An integrated RNA amplification system could increase the speed and accuracy of microarray experiments beyond what is achievable today. We are eagerly anticipating working with Ambion on this high-value, integrated product which will really take advantage of the microfluidic lab-on-a-chip idea."

"Microfluidics represents a new and compelling way to conduct gene expression experiments using very small amounts of reagents and sample material," said Matt Winkler, Ambion's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer. "As gene expression becomes more integrated into the analysis of biological samples such as cells and blood, we can offer a novel way to glean important information from very small quantities of material for the benefit of the researcher, and ultimately, perhaps the patient."