Science Publishes Research Validating Fluidigm Chips for Multi-Step, Nanogram Scale Synthesis of Molecular Imaging Probes.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Research released in the December 15 issue of Science demonstrates nanogram synthesis of radiolabeled glucose analog, fluorodeoxy-glucose (FDG) on Fluidigm's Integrated Fluidic Circuits (IFCs). IFCs are rubber-like chips that incorporate miniature active elements for regulating sequential processes involved in chemical manipulations. Researchers designed the study around FDG for two reasons: FDG is widely used as a molecular imaging probe in patient diagnosis with positron emission tomography (PET) -- an estimated two million doses were administered worldwide in 2004 -- and the multi-step process for preparing FDG serves as a proof of concept for the use of IFCs to prepare a diversity of other compounds at the nanogram scale.

Synthesizing FDG is challenging because the half-life of the radio-fluorine is only 110 minutes, which strictly limits the time for synthesizing and labeling glucose and then administering it to a patient. Currently, FDG is synthesized using large volumes and masses of reactants with bulky and expensive electromechanic devices, requiring synthesis times of about 50 minutes. With Fluidigm's IFCs, FDG may be prepared at the nanogram scale on a chip; thus reactions are more efficient and synthesis is reduced to approximately 15 minutes, leaving a wider margin of time for clinical use.

The requirements of expedited chemical kinetics and low-mass quantities of chemical reactants, together with the emerging need to expand, and diversify the catalog of molecular imaging probes, provide a unique opportunity for Fluidigm's IFC technology, according to the authors of the paper. The efficiencies gained through the use of IFCs, rather than traditional instruments, may allow imaging techniques such as PET to be deployed more broadly at research universities, medical centers and pharmaceutical companies. IFC-based synthesis creates opportunities for the labeling of biochemicals that previously have been available in insufficient quantities and for the study of new drugs in vivo. For example, tiny amounts of radiolabeled compounds could be administered to mice to study their distribution within tissues. Only compounds with optimal tissue and disease target characteristics would be scaled up for clinical trials.

The research was supported by the UCLA-DOE Institute for Molecular Medicine Institute, the National Cancer Institute, the Norton Simon Research Foundation, an NIH training grant at UCLA, and a collaboration between Fluidigm and Siemens Medical Solutions Molecular Imaging division. The paper was authored by a collaboration from Fluidigm Corporation, Caltech, UCLA, Stanford University, and Siemens Medical Solutions.

About Fluidigm

Fluidigm develops and distributes systems for analysis and synthesis of biomolecules in nano- and pico-volume environments. The company's vision is to create and to lead a new industry in which efficiencies inconceivable today are achieved through the advent of integrated fluidic circuits (IFCs). In 2003 the Company introduced the TOPAZ(R) System, which streamlines the process of protein crystallization, an essential capability for rational drug design. Currently, the Company is rolling out the BioMark(TM) System, which includes the dynamic array IFC, for ultra high-throughput real-time RT-PCR. Under development is an IFC that isolates and detects a target sequence in a high background of similar sequences and an IFC that miniaturizes and integrates the steps involved with immunoassays. Based in South San Francisco, California, the Company is privately held and backed by premier investors: Versant Ventures, Euclid SR Partners, InterWest Partners, Lehman Brothers Healthcare Fund, Bruce Burrows, the Singapore EDB, Lilly BioVentures, the Invus Group, GE Equity, SightLine Partners, and Alloy Ventures.