Droplet Microarrays – Readout by MALDI imaging

This webinar takes place on May 25, 2021, 14:00 - 16:00 CEST

Webinar Overview

Cell-based assays in pharmaceutical research and development primarily rely on fluorescence-based and other label-dependent technologies for high-throughput screening and on morphometric microscopy readouts or transcriptional signatures for high-content screening. Superhydrophobic-hydrophilic droplet microarrays (DMA) and MALDI mass spectrometry (MS) have recently emerged as key technologies for miniaturized high-throughput cell assays and for label-free molecular high-content drug profiling, respectively.

Here, we integrate nanoliter-scale cell assays on DMAs with MALDI MS imaging approaches to a Droplet Microarray-Mass Spectrometry Imaging (DMA-MSI) platform. Using A549 lung cancer cells, we demonstrate concentration-response profiling of a pharmaceutical compound, the fatty acid synthase inhibitor GSK2194069. Direct cell culture on DMAs enables combination of microscopy and high speed and high molecular content analysis using MALDI MS imaging. Miniaturization of array spots down to 0.5 mm confining 40 nL droplets allows for MALDI imaging analysis of as few as 10 cells per spot. Partial automation ensures a fast sample preparation workflow.

Taken together, the integrated DMA-MSI platform that combines MALDI-MS imaging as label-free analytical technique, with superhydrophobic-hydrophilic  DMAs is a valuable complement for high throughput cell-based assays technologies.

Speakers

Prof. Dr. Carsten Hopf
Professor and Head of CeMOS  

Carsten Hopf is currently professor of bioanalytics and drug discovery at Mannheim Technical University. A trained neurochemist, Carsten obtained his PhD in biochemistry from University of Tübingen in collaboration with the Max-Planck-Institute for Developmental Biology. As an EMBO fellow, he continued his research at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in Baltimore, USA. From 2001 to 2014, he worked at Cellzome (since 2012 part of GlaxoSmithKline), a leading proteomics-based drug discovery company, eventually serving in its leadership team. Since 2005, he is a professor of bioanalytics, enjoying the best of both worlds by building bridges between academia and industry. Carsten heads the Center for Mass Spectrometry and Optical Spectroscopy (CeMOS) in Mannheim. He also serves as spokesman for the Pharma/Diagnostics public-private partnership for innovation M2Aind and is the industry liaison for the German Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Prof. Dr. Pavel Levkin
Head of the Multifunctional Materials Systems research group,
Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems and Institute of Organic Chemistry,
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Prof. Dr. Pavel Levkin is head of the Multifunctional Materials Systems research group at the Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems (IBCS-FMS) and Institute of Organic Chemistry (IOC) at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany. He graduated from the Institute of Fine Chemical Technology, Moscow and obtained his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Tübingen in Germany, followed by postdoctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley. Pavel Levkin is the co-founder of ScreenFect GmbH and Aquarray GmbH. His research focuses on the development of functional and responsive materials, and surfaces for biomedical and biotechnological applications.

 

For Research Use Only. Not for use in clinical diagnostic procedures.