Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA TR 23 017
The Miniaturization and Automation of Tissue Chip Systems (MATChS) funding opportunity (RFA-TR-23-017) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) solicitation that supports small businesses developing next-generation, miniaturized, and automated tissue chip platforms. The overall aim is to move tissue chip technology toward higher throughput, more standardized operation, and easier adoption by biomedical research and drug development teams by reducing the amount of manual handling and enabling more consistent, instrument-driven workflows.
This opportunity is offered through the cooperative agreement mechanisms U43/U44 and is designated "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," meaning applicants should not propose clinical trials as part of the funded work. As a cooperative agreement rather than a traditional grant, NIH staff will have substantial involvement during the project period. Applicants are expected to define clear, measurable milestones and benchmarks and to work closely with NIH program staff to track progress and ensure the project stays aligned with the program goals. The emphasis is not only on technical development but also on demonstrating a credible, practical pathway to commercialization, reflecting the SBIR focus on turning innovations into deployable products.
Responsive projects are those that propose research and development of tools and turnkey technologies that materially improve automation and throughput for tissue chip systems. The NOFO highlights capabilities such as automated, higher-throughput measurements; online sensing; rapid data acquisition; and streamlined analysis pipelines that together reduce hands-on time and variability. In practical terms, this points to integrated systems that can run tissue chips more like automated instruments rather than bespoke laboratory setups, including hardware, software, sensing, and workflow automation that make experiments faster, more reproducible, and more scalable.
The expected outcome of funded awards is an increased availability of miniaturized, automated tissue chip platforms that can be broadly used in drug development and across other biomedical research applications. The intention is to help establish tissue chips as major, widely usable research tools in laboratories by making the platforms easier to run, more reliable, and more suitable for routine use where standardized operation and data quality are critical.
Eligibility is limited to small businesses, and foreign participation is explicitly restricted. Non-U.S. (foreign) institutions are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as defined by NIH policy) are not allowed. The opportunity sits under the NIH (CFDA 93.350), is categorized as discretionary funding, and has an original closing date of February 23, 2026.Apply for RFA TR 23 017
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Miniaturization and Automation of Tissue Chip Systems (MATChS) (U43/U44 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.350.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2023-11-21.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-02-23. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Small businesses.
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