WAUWATOSA – On the eve of National DNA Day – designated to celebrate the 50th anniversary of James D. Watson and Francis Crick’s discovery of the structure of DNA – 3D Molecular Designs learned it will receive a $108,000 supplement to its Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health, to develop a mold for its innovative DNA kit. The supplement brings their SBIR award to $474,000.

“This is exciting news,” said Tim Herman, Ph.D., co-owner and chief operating officer. “It means we’ll be able to proceed with our manufacturing and launch the DNA kit in conjunction with publication of the 5th edition of The Molecular Biology of the Gene, in December. James Watson, Ph.D., is lead author of the prestigious text.

Herman is exploring options with Cold Spring Harbor Press and Benjamin Cummings, co-publishers of the text, on how they can include one of each of DNA’s four nucleotides with each text. The kit will also be marketed to colleges, high schools, science museums and science outreach programs.

The innovative DNA kit is the first to combine powerful magnets, with the accurate, 3-dimensional shapes of Adenosine, Thymine, Guanosine and Cytosin (A, T, C, G) nucleotides – often referred to as the four building blocks of DNA. The magnets actually provide a sensation, which mimics the bonding action that occurs between A - T and C - G. “This bonding sensation takes hands-on learning to an entirely new level,” Herman explained.

In addition, the cluster of atoms forming each nucleotide is designed to be easily recognizable, so students see A, T, C and G as distinct units and learn to recognize each in the same way they learned to recognized words, when beginning to read.

The DNA kit has been field-tested at Harvard University, University of Wisconsin – Madison, De Pauw University (Indiana), and numerous high school classrooms in Wisconsin.

While putting the DNA pieces together, many students feel the same sense of discovery that Watson and Crick experienced, when piecing together various combinations of their paper cut-outs of A, T, C and G. “Modeling” was the primary tool Watson and Crick used to identify the structure of DNA,” Herman noted.

Students find the magnets and distinct shapes make the DNA kit both a self-reinforcing and self-correcting. When nucleotides are joined correctly, students feel the bonding and hear a click. If the nucleotides are put together incorrectly, the magnets either repel each other or form weak bonds that are “unstable” and easily fall apart. As a result, it’s impossible to build the helix with mismatched nucleotides.

“College and high school science instructors have been involved throughout the development of the DNA kit,” said Michael Patrick, Ph.D., co-owner and chief operating officer.

The idea for an accurate, 3-dimensional DNA kit began in Herman and Patrick’s science outreach programs for college and high school teachers. The programs are held at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) Center for BioMolecular Modeling, where Herman is director and Patrick, co-director. Patrick is also co-director of the University of Wisconsin – Madison’s Wisconsin Teacher Enhancement Program.

Herman, Wauwatosa, and Patrick, Pine River, founded the biotech company in 1999, when it was spun off from the MSOE Center to commercialize the technologies and products created there. They began by selling 3D models of proteins and other molecular structures to researchers. Until they made custom models available, researchers had to solely rely on computer visualization programs to view the proteins they research.

By actually holding and turning the 3D models in their hands, researchers can see aspects of the structures that are not readily evident with even the best programs, Herman explained. The models also serve as “thinking tools,” stimulating ideas about how proteins may function and interact with other proteins.

Their customers include researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Harvard University, MIT, Yale University, University of Wisconsin - Madison and pharmaceuticals.

“None of this would have been possible without the SBIR funding,” Herman said. With the first SBIR award, Herman and Patrick developed software that makes it possible to produce custom models using rapid prototyping equipment. They also were able to lease the rapid prototyping machine on which they build many custom models. Each generation of the DNA kit has also been built on that machine. The supplement enables them to go beyond rapid prototyping and develop the mold, which will be used to mass-produce the DNA kit.

In February, Herman and Patrick received their second NIH SBIR award. They have another SBIR proposal submitted to the National Science Foundation. While the focus of each is different, both the second award and NSF proposal involve developing technologies that will make it possible to produce 3D science education products that will make the molecular world understandable.

Herman noted that MSOE is also providing critical support by providing access to its technology and space for the company’s operations.

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3D Molecular Designs
2223 North 72nd Street
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin 53213
www.3dmoleculardesigns.com