Recent advancements in science and engineering are revolutionizing our understanding of an individual's disease, and with this knowledge we are gaining an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how discovery can be transformed to deliver personalized medicines. To reach this future state, we must reengineer our approach to enable the use of more relevant human cellular models earlier in the drug discovery process. Stem cells and primary human cells represent more disease-relevant models than immortalized cell lines; however, due to both availability and cost, their use is limited in lead generation activities. Miniaturization of cellular assays below microtiter plate volumes will enable the use of more relevant cells in screening, but this would require a change in how test molecules are introduced to the biology. With these shifting paradigms, Discovery Supply teams at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are modernizing our sample handling approaches. Various emerging technologies such as microarrays, nanowells, and microfluidic devices could bring fundamental changes in conventional sample handling support as we transition from microtiter plates to well-less platforms. The discussion here is exploratory in nature and reviews ongoing proof-of-concept experiments. Our ultimate goal is to industrialize the sample management platforms to support future miniaturized biological assay systems.
Keywords: array-based cellular assays; assay on a chip; miniaturization; small-molecule microarray.