Sonobiology: Acoustic Cell Control in Human Cell-Based Analysis

The Study shall investigate the potential of a new acoustic technology, termed "Sonobiology", to produce and manipulate living cells in culture, under conditions relevant to industrial use. The cells used for the investigation shall be human cells of the type used by industry to evaluate new drugs and test the biosafety of these and many other materials. The acoustic technology shall be applied to cell samples at times when it is necessary to separate living from dead or damaged cells, and the utility of the technology shall be measured in terms of enhanced cell performance when those cells are used in conditions similar to those applied in, for example, preclinical drug discovery. The advantages of acoustic cell manipulation will be assessed not only by improved analytical performance, and also in terms of cost-efficiency gains in processes relevant to commercial laboratory situations, where standardisation and speed of cell handling are critical. If successful, the outcome shall be a proof of principle that acoustic techniques have potential to improve cell-based analysis tools widely used by the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries