Oxygen reducing microcapsules for in vitro control of hypoxia

Oxylo, Inc., San Diego CA

Investigators

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY Molecular oxygen is fundamental to cell biology, critically influencing cellular metabolism and associated signaling pathways, tissue morphogenesis and homeostasis, and disease development. However, existing technology to control oxygen levels in the laboratory falls short in providing precise and efficient control. Traditional approaches like hypoxic incubators or gas-injected microfluidic lines often require prolonged periods to achieve oxygen equilibrium, with the final oxygen concentration varying depending on the media's volume. Furthermore, these instruments are expensive and have key limitations, such as the inability to set multiple oxygen levels at once, or the ability to do sub-well oxygen control. This gap in technology hampers the ability of researchers to accurately manipulate and study oxygen-dependent biological processes, impeding advancements in our fundamental understanding of cell biology during development and disease progression. In response to this unmet need, OxyLo introduces HypoxyCaps, an innovative solution designed to revolutionize oxygen control in laboratory and clinical settings. Our patent-pending biomaterials-based prototype enables rapid, precise, and scalable manipulation of oxygen levels, seamlessly integrating into existing research frameworks without the need for costly or complex equipment. This Fast-Track proposal is dedicated to further developing and validating HypoxyCaps. Our objectives include refining production processes to enhance reproducibility, longevity in storage, and size control, while also demonstrating their versatility in various research models, including cancer drug development, cardiac modeling, and lice cell tracking. Our aims will demonstrate our technology’s key innovations, including control of multiple oxygen levels within a single well plate or device, as well as the capacity to manipulate oxygen at the sub-well level with oxygen tension gradients and localized hypoxia. The end goal is to create off the shelf kits that will enable any researcher to easily modulate the oxygen levels within their own experiments. By offering a simple, easy-to-use, and broadly accessible method for oxygen control, HypoxyCaps will enable more accurate models of development and disease, thereby accelerating fundamental discovery and augmenting pipelines for drug discovery and development. This proposal will further provide PI Molley with the entrepreneurial training he needs to become a successful leader of OxyLo. PI Molley will work closely with his two mentors, Dr. Adam Engler and Mr. Tim Schwartz, and participate in several programs, including UC San Diego’s MedTech Stage 2 Accelerator, the Homelab Accelerator, PM Bootcamp, Torrey Pines Training Consortium, ULI Pro Forma Course, and the Investor Intensive program. By this proposal end, PI Molley will have gained extensive training and experience in entrepreneurship, product development, leadership and people management, and fundraising and financial planning.