The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is the development of an ambient-temperature nucleic acid sample management system that can efficiently and cost-effectively scale to meet the demands of life science and data science needs. Recent market trends show a significant expansion in DNA archival and access requirements, with applications in personal genomics services for health and ancestry; forensic, precision medicine, and agricultural sample storage; and future digital information storage using DNA sequences. Current market-available DNA storage methods rely on cold-temperature storage in room-size chambers, with the DNA typically kept in biologically active media that is prone to degradation by freeze-thaw cycling, power failure, sample contamination, or sample loss. The goal of this work is to develop a method of DNA sample management that allows ambient sample storage combined with rapid access with native chemical and thermal protection. This work will lead to a device-based approach for sample management that will scale with the growing demands of industry. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop technological and engineering requirements for scalable bead-based encapsulation of DNA samples, retrievable with molecular-biology grade purity for downstream cloning and sequencing. Micron-scale DNA sample archival and access will be accomplished by a two-stage method for protecting and barcoding individual samples. New processes and protocols will be developed for the precise and reliable encapsulation of DNA in 10 micrometer condensed particles that additionally allow for barcode identification. Methods will be specifically developed such that the retrieval of the sample out of the particle will be nondestructive and of high quality for downstream applications. Random access will be achieved by enrichment of those particles displaying the barcode of interest. This research will lead to a revolutionary micron-scale DNA management architecture for archival, offering massive improvement in capacity, decreased operating costs and increased sample integrity. Specific technical innovations include DNA encapsulation methods for long-term DNA archival and molecular barcoding of microparticles for retrieval. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
