'DNA Chips' and Tiny Tubes Make
Genetic Studies Practical
- Innovative systems increase speed of genetic analysis up to
1,000-fold or even more.
- Initial products save time (and money) in taxpayer-funded
research on human genetics.
- Technologies diffuse beyond biomedical research to food/cosmetics
testing and agriculture.
Powerful microtechnologies that offer extraordinary advances in the speed and
convenience of DNA analysis are boosting capabilities to understand human genetics, manage
diseases such as cancer and AIDS, discover new drugs, and cut costs in the trillion-dollar
U.S. healthcare industry. These systems are initial spin-offs of an ongoing joint venture
co-funded by NIST's Advanced Technology Program (ATP) aimed at making low-cost, handheld
diagnostic devices for quickly analyzing DNA samples in doctors' offices. The devices will
feature a combination of the technologies developed in the ATP project by two small
biotechnology firms in California. The ATP funding has enabled advances in sample
preparation, data analysis, and chemistry and helped validate three component systems,
which already are being sold separately for research purposes while ATP-funded work
continues to combine and miniaturize features and make the resulting devices robust and
easy to produce.
Affymetrix, Inc., adapted a semiconductor manufacturing process to make keychain-sized
DNA chips, which contain thousands of gene sequences that detect matches in blood or
tissue samples up to 100 times faster than conventional methods. First commercialized in
1996, the initial chip systems (which detect genetic variations related to AIDS, cancer,
and drug metabolism) brought in $4.7 million in sales in 1997. Affymetrix received $5.5
million from the NIH National Human Genome Research Institute to develop applications and
has signed agreements with a number of companies for projects in drug discovery, linking
genetic variations to disease, and disease management. Molecular Dynamics recently
introduced a system that sorts and sequences DNA in 96 tiny capillaries (tubes the size of
a human hair) instead of the traditional slab of gel. The company has sold about 20 of
these desktop-sized systems, which can analyze the chemical makeup of unknown DNA faster
and more efficiently than traditional methods. Molecular Dynamics also makes DNA
microarrays containing thousands of test spots, which can be customized by users to
analyze gene function thousands of times faster than conventional methods for a fraction
of the cost, according to the company. In partnership with a major biotechnology supplier,
Molecular Dynamics has signed agreements giving 12 organizations access to the
precommercial technology.
ATP funding: $31,478,000
Non-ATP funding: $31,487,000
For more information
April 1998 |
