Technology Advances
The Lead
Creating Companion Diagnostics with Biomarkers
February 14, 2013 2:40 pm | by Mike May, PhD, Contributing Editor | Articles | Comments
Less than 1% of current drugs have a companion diagnostic, and 60% of the drugs in clinical trials have a companion diagnostic in mind. Companion diagnostics are an important component in moving the ball forward in personalized medicine and making those moves depends on biomarkers.
Purifying Proteins with Chromatography
December 6, 2012 3:18 pm | by Mike May, PhD, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsA scientist needs a purified sample of a protein to unravel its function. The complexity of acquiring such a purified protein depends largely on the complexity of the original sample. Most protocols for purifying proteins include some form—and maybe more than one—of chromatography.
Increasing Throughput in RNA Analysis
October 8, 2012 11:03 am | by Mike May, PhD, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsAs healthcare evolves around the world, pharmaceutical companies face new reasons to increase the throughput of RNA analysis. Many drug researchers are trying to characterize the response to some type of treatment, like the effects of siRNA or small molecules.
Faster Flow Cytometry Analysis
August 9, 2012 3:32 pm | by Mike May, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsIn general, flow cytometry collects data on biological components—cells—in a suspension that passes a detector. Depending on the speed of the flow, the number of cells and the variety of markers being used, the data analysis ranges from merely repetitive to ridiculously complex.
Culturing Cells at Scale
June 11, 2012 2:15 pm | by Mike May, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsIn the cell-culture side of the bioprocessing industry, researchers explore techniques that can be exploited in manufacturing, such as making biotherapeutics.
Following More with Flow
May 14, 2012 4:09 pm | by Mike May, PhD, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsWhen applying flow cytometry to drug discovery, the efficiency of the research depends in part on how many features can be simultaneously tracked.
Ensuring Antibody Performance
April 12, 2012 3:55 pm | by Mike May, PhD, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsGiven the variety of techniques for making antibodies, companies must ensure that scientists receive molecules that function as advertised.
Improving Pipettors
March 19, 2012 2:04 pm | by Mike May, PhD, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsThe pipette is as much a laboratory icon as the test tube. In fact, a typical lab today probably uses pipettors more than test tubes, which are giving way more and more to multiwall plates.
Going 2D with Liquid Chromatography
February 21, 2012 12:00 pm | by Mike May, PhD, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsIn some complex solutions, even the best technology cannot provide an adequate separation with just one dimension. To make better separations, drug researchers often desire two-dimensional ultraperformance liquid chromatography.
Creating Higher Content
January 25, 2012 9:29 am | by Mike May, PhD, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsWhenever possible, drug researchers want one process to quickly reveal a collection of information. This makes high-content screening and analysis increasingly important in drug discovery.
Expanding Liquid Chromatography Options
December 8, 2011 6:15 am | by Mike May, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsAt recent meetings, pharmaceutical scientists have made it clear that they want more ways to use liquid chromatography with peptides and proteins, and this interest will expand as more companies explore biologics.
More Sensitivity with MS/MS
October 7, 2011 12:26 pm | by Mike May, PhD, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsIn today’s healthcare industry, scientists often face more complicated samples. A research project exploring a fluid or tissue sample for biomarkers, may need a combination of liquid chromatography and two rounds of mass spectrometry to pull out more details from the noise.
Decoding the Transcriptome
September 12, 2011 11:30 am | by Mike May, PhD, Contributing Editor | News | CommentsAfter years of DNA sequencing to unravel the genome, many researchers now turn to RNA sequencing to explore the transcriptome, but collecting the necessary RNA takes some effort.
Watching the Flow
August 1, 2011 12:19 pm | by Mike May, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsWhen a scientist really wants to see what’s going on with their research, they just need to have a look. Even when tracking thousands of cells, image-based cytometry lets researchers examine them one by one.
Calculating the Correct Chromatography
July 29, 2011 8:07 am | by Mike May, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsThe best choice for chromatography in drug research depends largely on the task. To pick the best column for a particular application in drug research scientists should think in terms of the different types of compounds that might be analyzed.
Defining the Culture for Cells
June 3, 2011 11:58 am | by Mike May, PhD, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsTo grow animal cells in culture, scientists once used a wide variety of animal-based components to create a conducive environment, but that is changing.
Capturing More in Microscopy Images
May 9, 2011 8:49 am | by Mike May, PhD, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsAdvanced microscopic cameras use sophisticated sensors to capture images. New developments in sensors are bringing more features into view.
Tracking PTMs with Polyclonal Antibodies
April 12, 2011 7:22 am | by Mike May, PhD, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsAs scientists use polyclonal antibodies more widely, their needs become more varied. Moreover, the reliability of catalogue polyclonals can fluctuate, so some researchers prefer an antibody designed and manufactured just for them.
Biological Cabinets: Safer-Than-Ever
March 9, 2011 10:55 am | by Mike May, PhD; Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsBiological safety cabinets aren’t all that different from cars. Although 40-year-old biological safety cabinets do lots of what today’s cabinets do, modern ones just work better.
Seeing More Sensitivity in SFC
February 18, 2011 5:25 am | by Mike May, PhD, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsSupercritical fluid chromatography has begun taking on new roles in the pharmaceutical industry.
Simulating with Software
February 18, 2011 4:39 am | by Mike May, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsFrom quantum mechanical techniques to docking algorithms, drug discovery grows increasingly dependent on molecular modeling.
Raising the High Content Bar
January 11, 2011 11:25 am | by Mike May, PhD, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsTo see how compounds impact cells, many researchers now use high content approaches. Typically, this involves automatically capturing and photographing cells, and then applying image analysis.
A Collection of Tools for Cell Culture
December 7, 2010 6:39 am | by Mike May, PhD, Contributing Editor | Articles | Comments“The devil is in the details” when it comes to applying cell culture to drug discovery and development.
Reading More from Microplates
October 11, 2010 10:12 am | by Mike May, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsMany articles describe assays that work in multi-well plates, but without the technology to read the results these assays are of limited benefit to the drug discovery and development process.
Single-cell Expression and Microfluidics
September 16, 2010 8:16 am | by Mike May, PhD; Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsResearch is showing that single cells differ in their expression even in tissues once considered homogenous. This could be especially useful knowledge in medical research.
Adding Automation to Western Blotting
August 13, 2010 10:49 am | by Mike May, PhD, Contributing Editor | Articles | CommentsWhen it comes to searching for specific proteins in a biological extract, many researchers still turn to the Western blot. Even after thirty years, this technique continues to be improved.
