Laboratory Focus May/June 2017 by Promotive Communications

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May/June 2017 Volume 21, Number 2 R&D News.................. 1

Cloud-connecting your pipette and notebook Page 8

Validation of colorants in microchips for real-time PCR AriaDNA Page 11

Appointments............. 7 Pharma Notes........... 15 New Products........... 16 App Reviews.............. 18

Researchers call for caution on CRISPR Study shows CRISPR could alter regions of the genome which researchers are not targeting

CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) appears to be the new darling of biotech. There are some 20 human trials in progress, mostly in China, involving the novel gene-editing technique which has the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment. But it doesn’t stop there. Researchers are also using CRISPR in experiments aimed at creating mutant mosquitos bioengineered to resist malaria-causing parasites. Scientists are using CRISPR to insert the DNA of wooly mammoths into lab-grown elephants in order to

bring the extinct prehistoric animals back to life. CRISPR is such a power tool that there are some people calling for caution on how scientists employ the gene-editing technique. CRISPR-Cas9, which enables scientists to edit the DNA of any species with extreme precision and efficiency, offers hope of delivering an affordable way of targeting cancers with altered immune cells and treating other diseases such as leukemia and HIV/AIDS. Despite the technique’s touted precision, a new study indicates

that mutations occur in the areas where DNA has been cut. A recent study in the titled Unexpected mutations after CRISPRCas9 editing in vivo which was published in the Nature Methods, said scientists investigated mutations which occurred in mice DNA that had undergone CRISPR gene editing. “The investigators were able to determine that CRISPR had successfully corrected a gene that causes blindness, but found that the genomes of two independent gene therapy recipients had sustained more than 1,500 single-nucleotide mutations and more than 100 larger deletions and insertions,” the Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News reported. “None of these DNA mutations were predicted by computer algorithms that are widely used by researchers to look for off-target effects.” Dr. Vinit Mahajan, a co-author of the study, remains hopeful for CRISPR. “We’re still upbeat about CRISPR,

Continued on page 2

Zymeworks raises US$85-M in IPO

Vancouver biotherapeutics firm’s initial public offering seen as great step forward for Canadian life sciences space

Canada’s biotech sector was in the spotlight this June with the announcement that Vancouver’s Zymeworks had raised $85 million in its initial public offering. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company is the first Canadian Publications Mail Registration Number: 40052410

we’re physicians, and we know that every new therapy has some potential side effects – but we need to be aware of what they are,” Mahajan was quoted in a BigThink. com article. CRISPR could alter regions of the genome which researchers are not targeting, according to Dr. J. Keith Joung of Massachusetts General Hospital, a report from StatNews. com said. At a recent American Society of Hematology workshop on genomeediting, Joung showed some 150 experts from industry and academia an example where CRISPR is supposed to edit the VEGFA gene on chromosome 6. VEGFA stimulates production of blood vessels, including those used by cancerous tumors. Joung said studies have shown that the CRISPR can hit genes on every one of the other 22 human chromosomes. The issue of off-target effects is important. There is the possibility

Continued on page 3

May/June 2017 Laboratory Focus www.laboratoryfocus.ca

news Continued from page 1 that genome editing could inadvertently disable a tumoursuppressor gene or activate a cancer-causing gene. Consider the possibility of an off-target effect where two different chromosomes are joined in a phenomenon called translocation. Translo-

cation is the cause of chronic myeloid leukemia and other conditions. Off-target effects occur because CRISPR has two parts. The RNA part targets the site in the genome specified by the RNA’s string of nucleotides. The enzyme cuts the genome at this site. However, a genome can have more than one site where the same string of

nucleotides appears. The cutting enzyme of CRISPR does not stop at one cut. The enzyme “still has energy to bind with off-target site, so it can still cleave those sites,” said Joung. “More work may be needed to increase the fidelity of CRISPR-Cas9 with regard to off-target mutation…,” according to the authors of the Unexpected mutations after CRISPR-Cas9

editing in vivo study. They recommend that future studies use new CRISPR methods and that reagents consider using WGS analysis to determine the presence of off-target mutation in vivo. To see this story online visit http://laboratoryfocus.ca/ ottawa-researchers-kill-braincancer-in-mice-with-combination-immunotherapies/

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Continued from page 1 venture-backed IPO in the life sciences space since Xenon Pharmaceuticals went public some three years ago. Zymeworks is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation multifunctional biotherapeutics, primarily for the treatment of cancer. The company’s lead product candidate, ZW25, is a novel bispecific antibody currently being evaluated in an adaptive Phase 1 clinical trial. Zymeworks is also advancing a suite of preclinical product candidates and discovery-stage programs in immuno-oncology and other therapeutic areas. This is the first IPO from the Business Development Bank of Canada’s (BDC) health care portfolio since 2011 and the first crosslisted IPO for BDC in over a decade. BDC Capital, the investment arm of the BDC, was an anchor investor in Zymeworks’ last financing round alongside Lumira Capital. BDC Capital has almost $2 billion under management. The company intends to create disruptive therapeutic platforms, according to Ali Tehrani, president and CEO of Zymeworks. “By raising funds through our US and Canadian IPOs, we believe we are well-positioned to deliver on our mission,” he said. “There are great things happening in Canada and I’m glad this helps the world to see it.” Jérôme Nycz, executive vicepresident of BDC Capital, sees Zymeworks’ IPO as a “great step forward” for life sciences in Canada. “Together, VC funds and corporates have demonstrated that we have the ability to build and anchor world-class life sciences companies in Canada by leveraging our deep expertise in the health sciences domain,” he said. Dion Madsen, senior managing partner of the BDC Healthcare Venture Fund, said Canada has an advantage when it comes to attracting talent in the life sciences industry because of the country’s emerging tech clusters. “Talent likes to go where there are burgeoning clusters,” he said. “Over time, biotech clusters have been developing across the country including a next generation imaging and tech-enabled devices technology cluster in Toronto, an AI cluster in Montreal, and a successful tech cluster in Vancouver, building around immunotherapy and antibodies.” To see this story online visit http://laboratoryfocus.ca/electrophysiology-laboratory-opens-atMontréal-heart-institute

May/June 2017

Lab-created skin and ‘organs-on-a-chip’ Hoping to quell public outcry over the practice of animal testing, a number of companies are creating models of human skin in laboratories for use in experiments. Some researchers foresee work in the area leading to the creation of so-called “organs-on-a-chip.” The French cosmetics company L’Oreal, the mother company of brands such as Lancome, The Body Shop, and Ralph Lauren Fragrances, has a new revenue source. The product is called EpiSkin– a labcreated human epidermis model. The company’s laboratory produces more than 100,000 human skin samples every year. Most of the samples are 0.5 sq.cms.in size. L’Oreal researchers use EpiSkin to test the efficacy of the company’s products. It’s part of an ongoing program to reduce and replace the use of live laboratory animals for tests and experiments. However, a recent CNBC article said that L’Oreal also sells the human skin model to pharmaceutical, chemical and household products companies,

as well as to other cosmetics makers. L’Oreal is also working with Organo, of San Diego on a project that will 3-D bioprint hair follicles. MatTek, an Ashland, Mass-based company founded in 1985, is probably L’Oreal’s largest competitor in the lab-created skin market. MatTek began marketing its EpiDerm product back in 1993. MatTek, according to CNBC, produces about two adult humans’ worth of skin every week at its Massachusetts and Slovakia facilities. According to a MatTek scientist, the company is looking towards tissue models in a “cross-talk system” so that they can evaluate the effects of substances put on a skin. This could eventually lead to, CNBC said, experiments in using EpiDerm for research on organs-on-a-chip. An organs-on-a-chip is a plastic micro device about the size of a USB stick. They have microchannels and chambers filled with liquid and contain lab-cultured human cell types which mimic human body functions such

news

Harvard’s Wyss Institute as breathing, morphology, flow, and electric stimuli. One of the most promising applications of the technology is in drug discovery and development. Although a recent report by Yole Development indicates that the organ-on-a-chip market was worth only $7.5 million in 2016, it could experience rapid growth of up to $60 million to $117 million by 2022 To see this story online visit http://laboratoryfocus.ca/lab-created-skin-and-organs-on-a-chip/

B.C.’s Microdermics partners with German firm in microneedle project

Vetter and Microdermics join forces for innovation in drug delivery. From left to right: Dr. Claus Feussner, Senior Vice President Vetter Development Service; Prof. Boris Stoeber, Co-founder and Chief Technical Officer; Grant Campany, President & CEO (both Microdermics); and Dr. David Brett, Team

Microdermics Inc., a Vancouver-based medical device company, is seeking to speed up its development of an alternative to the traditional hypodermic needle by partnering with Vetter, a German provider of aseptic prefilled drug delivery systems. The market in novel alternatives to needle injections is forecasted to grow rapidly, reaching in excess of 480 million units by 2030, according to a Roots Analysis report. However, companies involved in the development of alternatives to hypodermic needles are often hampered by limited investment

in scalable aseptic manufacture at the later phases of development. Microdermics has chosen to partner with Vetter in order to overcome this hurdle, according to Grant Campany, president, and CEO of Microdermics. He said his company will rely on Vetter’s expertise in working with different drug substances. “Microdermics is extremely excited to work with a world-class partner like Vetter, since our strategic interests align and their decades of experience and innovation in the fill and finish segment will enable us to accelerate

our commercialization strategy,” said Campany. “Vetter’s vast experience with a wide variety of drug substances provides us with an invaluable opportunity for a successful development path for our microneedle drug delivery technology.” As a leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), Vetter offers customers a combination of device development and associated drug product manufacturing and packaging services. Microneedles are a novel technology that can offer promising advantages as an alternative to classical needle injections. Because of the system’s ability to deliver more drugs directly into the body, microneedles are effective in reducing the injectable dose needed to trigger an immune response. Microdermics’ microneedle technology is commercially scalable. It is capable of “pain-free injections into the pharmacokinetically beneficial intradermal space”, providing improved comfort and treatment to patients, according to the company. Microdermics has successfully demonstrated the initial safety of its microneedle system and is planning Phase 1 human clinical trials for vaccine and therapeutic delivery, to be initiated in 2017. To see this story online visit http://laboratoryfocus.ca/b-c-smicrodermics-partners-with-germanfirm-in-microneedle-project/

May/June 2017 Laboratory Focus www.laboratoryfocus.ca

news Johnson & Johnson’s JLabs @ Toronto gains 24 new residents JLabs @ Toronto – the 40,000-sqft science incubator of Johnson & Johnson Innovation – marked with first year anniversary in May with the introduction of 24 new residents bringing to more than 40 the number of companies sharing lab space, modular lab suites and office spaces in the downtown Toronto location. The companies represent a range of sectors including pharmaceuticals, medical devices and consumer health solutions with focus areas such as oncology, vision care, genomics, neuroscience, infectious diseases, immunology and the microbiome. JLabs @ Toronto is located at the MaRS Discovery District and is a collaboration between Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC, the University of Toronto, MaRS, Janssen Inc., MaRS Innovation and the Government of Ontario. It is also supported by the following hospital partners: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the Hospital for Sick Children, Sinai Health System, St. Michael’s Hospital, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and University Health Network. In addition to offering emerging life science companies modular lab units, office space, shared core laboratory equipment, business facilities, third-party services and educational events, JLABS links the entrepreneurs of Toronto with the full breadth of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, including opportunities for funding, access to research and development experts from medical technology, consumer healthcare product and the pharmaceutical teams at Janssen Inc. Johnson & Johnson operates several other JLabs around the world. “Our goal is to support early stage innovators with the resources and network needed to grow, and as evident by the 40 companies that reside within JLabs @ Toronto, we are already accomplishing what we set out to do in just one year of operation,” said Melinda Richter, head of JLABS, Johnson & Johnson Innovation. “The no-strings-attached model has been very important to our success in attracting so many quality companies, as it allows entrepreneurs the freedom to operate and do what is best for their company.” The following are the new companies* accepted into JLABS @ Toronto since May 11th, 2016 “Since opening its doors a year ago, JLabs @ Toronto has successfully attracted a multitude of promising companies from our province’s life sciences community, led by academic hospitals, world-class research institutes, top scientists and a

JLABS @ Toronto Resident

About the Company

Analytics 4 Life

Developing machine-learned imaging solutions on our artificial intelligence platform, Agilytics™, to non-invasively detect disease using only intrinsic physiologic signals.

Advanced Proteome Therapeutics Corporation

Simplifying and standardizing the production of antibody-drug conjugates to treat cancer, utilizing proprietary site-selective chemistries as protein modification technologies.

Appili Therapeutics

A private Canadian pharmaceutical company dedicated to identifying, acquiring and advancing novel therapeutics for infectious disease.

Ardra Bio Inc.

Makes high-quality natural flavors and fragrances through synthetic biology.

Avicanna Inc.

A life sciences company focused on innovative and biotechnological advancements in the medical cannabis industry worldwide.

Clerio Vision

Developing a revolutionary vision correction technology platform with applications in refractive surgery, cataract surgery and contact lenses in order to deliver better clinical outcomes with fewer complications.

Densitas

Developing a comprehensive advanced imaging analytics platform to generate actionable information targeted at improving mammography quality and associated better clinical outcomes and appropriateness of care.

DoseBiome

Developing accessible therapeutics for the oral microbiome.

Eve Medical

Women’s Health company and makers of Eve Kit – Canada’s first at-home HPV and STI screening service.

ExCellThera

A clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel stem cell therapies for blood-related diseases and cancers.

Integra Medical

Improving health through development and commercialization of breakthrough microbiome therapeutics.

Mannin Research

A biotechnology company innovating first-in-class therapeutics for vascular diseases starting with a novel eyedrop to treat patients with glaucoma.

Mediphage Bioceuticals

Designing naturally-modelled and safe phage-based therapeutics for the cost-effective and personalized management of cancer and other chronic diseases.

MIMOSA Diagnostics

Making mHealth applications & devices that empower diabetic patients and enable their clinicians to remotely monitor foot health.

NerveVision

A FDA 510(k)-cleared Nerve Visualization and Analysis software platform, creating a 3D, volume-rendered, reconstruction and segmentation of nerves from a standard MRI exam, enabling the clinician to visualize anatomy, pathology and nerve inflammation.

Pendant Biosciences

An advanced materials company developing novel, customizable, surface coatings and drug delivery technologies for applications within the orthopedic market.

Qing Bile Therapeutics Inc.

A R&D pharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of highly effective bile acid therapies for people suffering from liver and GI diseases.

Ranomics

Developing a database of genetic variants of unknown significance based on functional studies to help clinicians better diagnose hereditary cancers related to specific genes.

Self Care Catalysts

A cloud-based patient solutions, intelligence and analytics company leveraging the patient clout to derive value from human health behavior data and clinical evidence to inform decisions that will improve care delivery and health outcomes.

Tracery

A clinical stage ocular imaging and health tech company harnessing structured and unstructured data, OMICS, and large data analytics, for the co-development of new diagnostic tools and individualized therapeutic strategies globally through the cloud, advancing therapies for retinal disease.

Treventis

Designing innovative, disease-modifying drugs for Alzheimer’s disease and other protein misfolding disorders.

Winterlight Labs

Detects and monitors cognitive and mental illness through short snippets of speech using artificial intelligence.

ZOETIC Pharmaceuticals

Developing antigen-specific immune tolerance induction technology to address unwanted immune responses associated with therapeutic biologics, auto immune diseases, and AAV mediated gene therapy.

*some companies have asked not to be listed strong health start-up network,” said Ontario Minister of Research, Innovation and Science Reza Moridi, “They have helped our province continue to build up Ontario’s vibrant innovation

ecosystem, create good jobs, and strengthen our position in the global knowledge economy while also providing access to incredible resources for our life science entrepreneurs.”

To see this story online visit http://laboratoryfocus.ca/johnsonjohnsons-jlabs-toronto-gains24-new-residents/

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Laboratory Focus May/June 2017

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SGS expands capacity at Mississauga lab The Canadian arm of a global inspection, testing, and verification services company has bumped up the storage capacity and ability for stability testing of drug substances in its Mississauga, Ont. facilities. SGS Canada said the total capacity of its Mississauga lab increased by nearly 200 cubic metres, to an overall total of approximately 450 cubic metres. The additional capacity is split between six new chambers, which cover four standard storage conditions: 2-8 degrees Celsius, minus 20 degrees Celsius, 30 degrees Celsius / 65 per cent relative humidity, and 40 degrees Celsius / 75 per cent relative humidity. The chambers operate using a fully validated dual redundant cooling system with a switch-over capability to ensure zero excursion in the event of mechanical failure and are supported by gas-powered backup generators in the event of a prolonged power outage. “We have seen a strong growth in demand for these services, not only

from the biopharmaceuticals market but also within the small molecule space,” commented Michael Lindsay, Vice President – Life Sciences Canada. “The additional capacity this expansion brings will allow us to reconfigure our existing assets to provide the standard frozen, refrigerated, accelerated and intermediate stability conditions, as well as to provide capacity for custom conditions.” Across its global network of facilities, SGS offers a wide range of studies to monitor drug stability, including long-term drug stability and accelerated stability studies, shelf life assessment, in-use studies, shortterm temperature excursion studies, and forced degradation assessments according to ICH Q5C and ICH Q1B. At the company’s laboratory in Wavre, Belgium, a new stability chamber has been installed, adding 84 cubic metres of capacity, bringing the total capacity to over 330 cubic metres. With 21 laboratories offering contract analytical and bioanalytical services, SGS leverages its wholly-

owned global network, present in North America, Europe, and Asia, to deliver harmonized solutions to large pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms. In addition to testing services for the bio/pharmaceutical market, SGS also provides Phase I-IV clinical trial management, and services

encompassing data management and statistics, PK/PD modeling and simulation, pharmacovigilance and regulatory consultancy. To see this story online visit http://laboratoryfocus.ca/sgs-expands-capacity-at-mississauga-lab/

Eloxx Pharma gets US$5-M from Quark Ventures, GF Securities

The research Eloxx Pharmaceuticals of Israel is doing in the area of diseasemodifying therapy got a boost this week with the infusion of a $5 million from two investment organizations in Vancouver. The investment by venture capital firm Quark Ventures and securities company GF Securities (Canada) Co. Ltd., is part of a $24 million financing Series C round led by California-based Pontifax, a leading VC in the life sciences arena and co-founder of Eloxx Pharmaceuticals.

Headquartered in Rehovot, Israel, Eloxx Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage company developing first in class therapeutics to treat genetic diseases caused by nonsense mutations. The pharma company’s lead compound, ELX-02 has shown pharmacological, pharmacodynamics, and physiological effects in several animal models of the genetic disease caused by nonsense mutations including cystic fibrosis, cystinosis, Duchene muscular dystrophy and Rett’s syndrome. Approximately three to four per cent

of newborns manifest a genetic disease or major birth defect, and about 12 per cent of all mutations reported are caused by nonsense mutation. Nonsense mutations introduce premature stop codons in the reading frame of a gene. When the mutated sequence is translated into a problem, the resulting protein is incomplete and shorter than normal. Consequently, most nonsense mutations result in nonfunctional proteins. Nonsense mutations account for some of the most severe phenotypes in genetic diseases and often have devastating effects in critical target organs. “This investment expands our global portfolio. We are pleased to join Pontifax and other investors in this round of financing,” said Karimah Es Sabar, chief executive office of Quark Venture and director of GHS Fund. “Eloxx’s lead compound, ELX-02, provides a unique opportunity to potentially be the first disease-modifying therapy to treat a set of devastating diseases, for which there are no effective treatments. “ Quark Venture is focused on equity financing of innovative biotechnology and health sciences companies with breakthrough technology platforms and projects.

GF Securities is a provider of comprehensive capital market services with industry-leading innovation capabilities focused on serving China’s quality SMEs and affluent individuals. Global Health Science Fund was jointly established by Quark Ventures Inc. and GF Securities in late 2016. The fund is a health sciences venture fund that invests globally in a diversified portfolio of innovative biotechnology and health sciences companies. “We welcome Quark Ventures as an investor in this round of financing,” said Dr. Silvia Noiman, chief executive officer of Eloxx. “This financing enables us to initiate multiple clinical studies for EL-02. We are optimistic about advancing our lead clinical programs in cystic fibrosis and cystinosis patients carrying nonsense mutations.” ELX-02 is a translation read-through inducing drug. Read-through therapy is a treatment strategy for genetic diseases caused by nonsense mutations to increase translation and restoring the activity of the mutated proteins. To see this story online visit http://laboratoryfocus.ca/eloxx-pharma-gets-us5-m-from-quark-venturesgf-securities/

May/June 2017 Laboratory Focus www.laboratoryfocus.ca

news

Canadian Universities take part in research using MRIs to predict autism in babies By taking a magnetic resonance imaging scan of infants that have older siblings with autism, researchers from around the United States were able to correctly predict 80 per cent of infants who would likely have the mental condition at age two. At least two Canadian universities were among the institutions that collaborated in the study. The study, which was published in the international weekly science journal Nature, is said to be the first of its kind to use MRI images of an infant’s brain to detect possible signs of autism. The research project included hundreds of children from across the country and was led by researchers at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (CIDD) at the University of North Carolina. Other clinical sites included the University of Washington, Washington University in St. Louis, and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Two Canadian universities, McGill University and the University of Alberta where among a list of collaborators which includes the University of Minnesota, the College of Charleston, and New York University. “Our study shows that early brain development biomarkers could be very useful in identifying babies at the highest risk for autism before behavioral symptoms emerge,” a ScienceDaily report quoted senior research author Dr. Joseph Piven, the Thomas E. Castelloe distinguished professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, as saying. “Typically, the earliest an autism diagnosis can be made is between ages two and three. But for babies with older autistic siblings, our imaging approach may help predict during the first year of life which babies are most likely to receive

an autism diagnosis at 24 months.” Piven and scores of other researchers involved in the study took MRI scans of infants six, 12, and 24 months of age. They found that infants who developed autism had hyper-expansion of the brain surface area from six to 12 months. Infants with older siblings that have autism did not show evidence of the condition at 24 months of age. Increased growth rate of surface area during the first year of life was linked to increased growth rate of overall brain volume by the second year. Brain overgrowth was tied to the emergence of autistic social deficits in the second year, the report said. A computer program was used on the data collected to develop a way to

classify babies most likely to meet the criteria for autism at 24 months of age. The algorithm that was developed was applied to a separate set of study participants. The researchers found that brain difference at 6 and 12 months of age correctly predicted eight out of ten babies who had older siblings with autism would themselves meet the criteria for autism at 24 months of age. There is a potential for such a test to be used in identifying infants who may be at risk of developing autism. If the risk could be identified this early it may be possible to intervene “presymptomatically” before the defining symptoms of autism come out and when the brain is at its most malleable stage.

EnviroLeach completes Vancouver lab

EnviroLeach Technologies Inc. recently announced that it has completed the construction of its new laboratory in Vancouver, B.C.

The 4,200 square foot facility, which was built to support the growing research, development, and testing of the company’s patent-

pending, non-cyanide based EnviroLeach process, includes extensive lab equipment such as Agilent Technologies single element and multi-element atomic absorption spectrometers. The laboratory is also equipped with a Spectra Arcos inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) unit and a six-channel ColdBlock digestion system. The facility also includes a fully operational 25-kg pilot plant to test larger samples of ores, concentrates and electronic waste using the company’s proprietary, non-cyanide

“Putting this into the larger context of neuroscience research and treatment, there is currently a big push within the field of neurodegenerative diseases to be able to detect the biomarkers of these conditions before patients are diagnosed, at a time when preventive efforts are possible,” Piven said. “In Parkinson’s for instance, we know that once a person is diagnosed, they’ve already lost a substantial portion of the dopamine receptors in their brain, making treatment less effective.” To see this story online visit http://laboratoryfocus.ca/canadianuniversitys-take-part-in-researchusing-mris-to-predict-autism-inbabies/

based EnviroLeach formula. EnviroLeach has developed a unique, cyanide-free, cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to the toxic methods currently used in the hydrometallurgical extraction of precious metals for the mining and e-waste sectors. The patent-pending EnviroLeach process is safe, eco-friendly, and provides comparable leach kinetics to that of cyanide or acid based lixiviants on most ores, concentrates, tailings and e-waste, according to the company. To see this story online visit http://laboratoryfocus.ca/enviroleach-completes-vancouver-lab/

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Laboratory Focus May/June 2017

Abattis Bioceuticals Corp., a Vancouver-based life sciences company that invests in cannabis technologies and biotechnology services in the legal cannabis industry, has appointed Robert Anebate and Peter Gordon to its board of directors. Abenante is the president and CEO of Abattis and its subsidiaries. He is a seasoned executive who has served as a board member and executive officer of several public and private companies. His experience spans across several industries, including energy, mining, finance, technology and nutraceuticals in several global public markets. Gordon, who has acted as a consultant for Abattis in the past, has assisted many companies in navigating through licensing processes, urban development and resource and commodity rights applications at all levels of government. Gordon has also served as a board member of the Squamish Hospital Foundation and the Guissippe Garibaldi Foundation, and has served as a school board trustee. The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD), has appointed Matthew J. Carlyle, CFA, as chief financial officer. Carlyle brings his extensive experience

Matthew J. Carlyle

and relationships across global biotechnology and venture capital to CDRD. He was a partner of a national venture capital firm, CFO of a publicly traded biotech, and CFO of a number of private life sciences companies. Most recently, Carlyle was the CFO of Viable Healthworks Corp., and from 2004 to 2013, was CFO of Allon Therapeutics Inc. Prior to that, he served in corporate finance and development roles for a number of public and private life science and technology companies, and has been involved in raising approximately $200M. He is a

Appointments

founding partner of NDI Capital, a private investment management company focused on investing in high potential life science and healthcare companies. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the Association for Investment Management and Research, and the Vancouver Society of Financial Analysts. Montrealer Janice Murray, a long-time employee of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc., was named president of the company in May. Murray moves to her new position after having been in the role of chief financial officer for the Latin America and Canada region of Novartis Pharmaceutical. She held this position while she was based in Dorval. In this position, she oversaw the strategic planning, budgeting, financial performance, compliance and supply chain management of the region’s six operating units with combined revenues of approximately $2 billion. Prior to this regional role, Murray was vice-president of the ophthalmology business franchise for Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada for four years, leading the team of sales and marketing associates responsible for the company’s largest business franchise. Murray joined Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada as CFO in 2006. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in accounting from the University of Ottawa, a graduate diploma in accountancy from McGill University in Montreal, and a chartered accountant designation from the Ordre des comptables agréés du Québec. She started her career in audit management with KPMG Chartered Accountants and then spent 13 years in various senior and executive positions at Canadian National Railway before joining Novartis. The not-for-profit genomic innovation incubator Ontario Genomics has appointed a new president and chief executive officer. Dr. Bettina Hamelin, who has 12 years of experience in medical research and development leadership roles, will replace outgoing OG president and CEO Dr. Mark Pozanansky. Established in 2000, Ontario Genomics (OG) is the only provincial entity focused solely on sparking, supporting and sustaining Ontario’s genomics technology pipeline as a key driver of the province’s knowledge-based economy. Hamelin has extensive expertise

Dr. Bettina Hamelin

as a biotechnology strategist and a champion of the science innovation pipeline. In her previous position as vice-president of research partnerships at the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Hamelin headed a 130-member team to lead a $360M/ year research and innovation investment strategy, connecting Canadian and global innovation stakeholders to the research enterprise in Canada. Hamelin also worked for 12 years in Medical R&D leadership roles at Pfizer Inc., where she pioneered novel public-private partnership models.She holds an executive MBA in healthcare from the University of British Columbia and a doctorate in pharmacy from the University of Kentucky and was an adjunct professor, associate professor, and research scholar at the Université Laval.

ner at Naxos Capital Partners, one of the company’s largest stockholders. Frost has been elected a Class II director, to hold office until the 2018 annual meeting of stockholders. BioAmber also appointed Mario Settino as the company’s chief financial officer. Settino replaces the company’s current interim CFO, Raymond Land, who will continue to serve as chairman of the company’s board of directors. Settino has over 30 years of financial and operational experience in various industries such as services, manufacturing and high-end technology. He previously served as president and CFO of Peds Legwear and prior to this was CFOof Miranda Technologies. Settino has previously held senior financial positions with Loblaws, Bombardier and LGS, (an IBM company). He is a chartered professional accountant who began his career at Deloitte. There were a number of senior management team changes recently at Cardiome Pharma Corp. The changes to the management team were: • Justin Renz joins Cardiome as its new CFO • Jennifer Archibald, current CFO, has been appointed to the position of chief business operations officer, • David Dean, VP business development and investor relations, has been appointed to the position of chief business development officer,

BioAmber Inc., a sustainable chemicals company based on Montreal, has brought in Robert Frost to the company’s board of directors. Frost will replace Jean-Francois Huc and George F.J. Gosbee effective May 12, 2017 and May 11, 2017, respectively. Frost is a part-

Jennifer Archibald

• Hugues Sachot, SVP commercial, has been appointed to the position of chief commercial officer.

Robert Frost

The Vancouver-based organization’s shift from a single drug company to one selling multiple medicines, necessitated the changes, according to Dr. William Hunter, CEO and president of Cardiome.

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feature

b y Nicol a s P aris and Klem en Zu pancic

Cloud-connecting your pipette and notebook: a bottom-up approach to winning the reproducibility crisis

The pipette represents one opportunity for intervention, innovation, and optimization for improved reproducibility

eproducibility is a cornerstone of science, but studies show that 50 to 90 per cent of published scientific research cannot be replicated by other scientists. 1-2-3-4 Over the past decade, this phenomenon has come to be known as the “reproducibility crisis.” (Figure 1) Scientists recognize and are working to correct the problem. According to a Nature survey of over 1,500 scientists5, 59 per cent of respondents say they had implemented procedures over the past five years to improve reproducibility. Many promising corrective measures have been proposed. Indeed, when Nature offered 11 suggestions in their survey, ranging from better training to incentivizing reproducibility studies, all 11 were met with at least two-thirds of the community’s approval5, indicating that all solutions would be welcome. But what is the best starting point for life science researchers in their quest for more verifiable science? An easy place to start might be with the two tools most indispensable in research: the pipette and the lab notebook. What if we could enable these tools to help us achieve full traceability of our work and therefore contribute to more verifiable science? We are working on a solution that is familiar in many everyday applications, yet somewhat new to the life sciences: preserving data in the cloud.

Challenges to reproducibility: the pipette and the lab notebook Executing experiments using welldefined laboratory protocols is the lifeblood of how research gets done. And as an indispensable laboratory instrument that is a part of almost every experimental protocol, the pipette represents one opportunity for intervention, innovation, and optimization for improved reproducibil-

ity. Yet in this vital step, there is also ample room for error: authors at the Global Biological Standards Institute estimated that laboratory protocols accounted for about a tenth of the errors that contribute to irreproducibility.4 (Figure 1) A multitude of little things in the pipetting process can impact performance. Repetitive manual pipetting, and the sore thumbs that come with it, can wear down even the most diligent lab personnel, leading to pressing a pipette plunger more slowly than usual, or scraping the pipette tip along the inside of a liquid container and altering the amount of liquid pipetted.6 Or, a lack of training might be the culprit. Not pre-wetting a pipette tip has been shown to affect liquid volume.7 Pipetting performance can also be impacted by environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure.7 For instance, sample temperature can impact the accuracy of liquid delivered by up to four per cent.8 A single unnoticed mistake can result in an incorrect volume, which can snowball and tip a study toward inaccurate results. However, errors introduced by pipetting are no one person’s fault. Margins of error exist in all tasks, including pipetting, and battling the reproducibility crisis is a matter of reducing those margins wherever possible. The paper laboratory notebook is another ubiquitous research tool ripe for innovation, especially as an increasing amount of experimental data is being generated digitally. According to Gilson, as much as 50 per cent of a scientist’s day can be spent collecting and managing data (Figure 1). Despite the enormous effort that goes into this endeavor, research shows that with every passing year after a study is published, 17 per cent of data related to that study is estimated to be lost8, making it more and more difficult to verify a result.

Figure 1 HOW CLOUD CONNECTIVITY CAN COMBAT THE REPRODUCIBILITY CRISIS

Studies Replicated

Irreproducibility is a Growing Concern

50%

Reproducibility is key to advancing science. But studies show that well over 50% of research papers are not reproducible.

36.1%

27.6%

25.5%

Biological Reagents and Reference Materials

Study Design

Data Analysis and Reporting

100%

10%

11%

Psychology study1

Amgen oncology study2

10.8% Laboratory Protocols (includes preparation and execution of experiment)

21% Bayer healthcare study3

Irreproducibility in Biological Research Falls Into 4 Categories4 Manual operations in performing the experiment and data reporting are significant sources of error.

Managing Data Stalls Scientists’ Productivity As much as 50% of a scientist’s day is stuck managing data.

The Cloud-Connected Lab Can Reduce These Error Sources Devices that can send and receive information to and from the cloud--the Internet of Things--is one way the industry is helping scientists combat irreproducibility.

P200 20-200 µL

Cloud-enabled device

Gilson LabHub

Open source electronic lab notebook

Benefits

Research data Provides a permanent record of every experiment, including links to samples, protocols, data, and results, preventing data loss and facilitating replication

Get data & analytics Uses data to tell researchers how to improve their technique, helping to ensure that their execution of protocols is consistent

Share methods & results Enables collaborators to share data, and other scientists to verify these experiments

SOURCES 1. Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science. (2015). Science, 349(6251). doi:10.1126/science.aac4716 2. Baker, M. (2016). Biotech giant publishes failures to confirm high-profile science. Nature, 530(7589), 141-141. doi:10.1038/nature.2016.19269 3. Mullard, A. (2011). Reliability of ‘new drug target’ claims called into question. Nat Rev Drug Discov, 10(9), 643-644. doi:10.1038/nrd3545 4. Freedman, L. P., Cockburn, I. M., & Simcoe, T. S. (2015). The Economics of Reproducibility in Preclinical Research. PLOS Biology PLoS Biol, 13(6). doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1002165

Connecting instruments with each other and with the cloud — the so-called Internet of Things (IoT) — can help solve the reproducibility crisis in at least three ways. First, storing data on the cloud would prevent data loss. Second, permitting access to data on the cloud would improve attempts by other groups to verify the data. Finally, software on the cloud capable of analyzing data in realtime could alert researchers to suspicious outliers. For instance, Gilson is working on a cloud-connected pipette that tells users when they are using the wrong pipetting technique; e.g., holding the pipette at an angle instead of vertical.

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Feature Figure 2

The Cloud Connected Pipette.

cessed and readily understood. But as we all know, inconsistencies in record keeping are common, and often exacerbated by high workloads and the pace of routine lab work.

Finding a solution in a scientific Internet of Things

Gilson pipettes will be able to be retrofitted with Bluetooth capabilities that allow researchers to download protocols, upload data, receive feedback on pipetting technique in real-time and connect with other instruments in their workflow.

One reason data is lost is that it is dispersed around several places. Most labs use several solutions to manage their workflows, organize their work, keep experimental records, and collaborate with their team. Take, for example, a scientist trying to find an ex-colleague’s data that might be relevant to her current research. The lab notebook is stored in a box when the lab head moved from a different institution. There are digital folders on a server. Some are saved, but some are missing because the hard disk failed a few years ago. Critical observations were exchanged via email and never recorded anywhere. While unfortunate, such a situation is probably not too far from reality. In a perfect world detailed records of every experiment would be kept, neatly organized and stacked away in a safe place where it can be easily ac-

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a network of Internet-enabled physical devices that are connected to each other and to the cloud. Modernizing pipettes and lab notebooks by making them part of a “scientific” IoT represents a significant opportunity to enhance reproducibility. Researchers might be leery about whether their data will be safe, secure, and kept private if it resides in the cloud. Though a legitimate question, it should not be a concern. IoT has enjoyed widespread adoption in manufacturing, retail, transportation and other industries that value security precisely because technologies exist to protect cloud-stored information from prying eyes. Gilson’s cloud-connected pipette, set for launch later this year, is a powerful example of IoT in the research laboratory. Gilson has developed the technology to retrofit existing pipettes that labs are already using to confer Bluetooth capabilities, thus smoothing the transition to cloud-enabled labs. To enable the cloud, a specific button is fitted to the plunger rod of the pipette (Figure 2). Protocols and data are then automatically uploaded to the cloud, and can be transferred to other cloud-enabled instruments in the laboratory workflow. Through Gilson’s online application, researchers can view information related to execution of protocols for their corresponding projects. The

software tracks, records, and relays to the cloud actions performed with connected lab instruments, such as pipettes. Traceability, an important step in improving reproducibility, will also be improved, as the Bluetooth-enabled PIPETMAN® will allow researchers to see instrument calibration data, the volume dispensed, environmental conditions, along with other steps in the protocol. In the future, Gilson is planning to have IoTconnected pipettes with the ability to correct pipetting technique in realtime, aiding researchers in conducting accurate and reproducible experiments. Going beyond instruments, Gilson has also partnered with sciNote, a free, open-source electronic lab notebook (ELN) to improve the other mainstay of the lab – the lab notebook. By replacing paper records with an ELN, details about the researchers’ work on projects, experiments, protocols and results can be automatically recorded, which makes the process of recordkeeping effortless (Figure 3: Creating or up-

Repetitive manual pipetting, and the sore thumbs that come with it, can wear down even the most diligent lab personnel

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feature Figure 3

Creating or uploading a protocol to sciNote.

their full faith in science, reproducibility must not be in doubt. The technology is now available to help them be one step closer to making this a reality.

References

sciNote is easy to use and flexible enough to accommodate different workflows and practices in the lab. Every lab can use this electronic lab notebook in their preferred way. Labs can define their protocols within sciNote, and save them within the protocol repository. They can also upload, view and edit their current protocols directly as Microsoft Word or Excel files. Formats such as pdf, txt, csv and all types of images can also be uploaded to sciNote.

Gilson’s cloud-connected pipette, set for launch later this year, is a powerful example of IoT in the research laboratory

dating a protocol to SciNote). Traceability and audit trails are an essential part of verifiable science. sciNote is intuitive and flexible, which means that every laboratory can use it in their specific way. The ELN enables researchers to organize their projects, invite colleagues to collaborate, set due dates and write messages to each other. Every team member has their own set of permissions. This allows team leaders to coordinate the work processes and monitor the progress in the lab. Within a project, researchers can create different experiments as well as define protocols and entire workflows. Within each protocol, researchers can write descriptions, create checklists or tables, attach numerous file types, and even open and edit Microsoft Office Online files. Sample and protocol repositories are also available. For example, researchers will be able to use sciNote to select experiments pertaining to a specific paper and trace it back to specific protocols, results, and even the location of stored samples. They can also instantly pull together reports for entire projects and export them as printable PDF files, eliminating the need to wrangle information from traditional

lab notebooks, emails, and various handwritten notes. Integration allows users to sync information from LabHub projects (LabHub is Gilson’s cloud-based solution for managing and tracking protocols) with specific projects or tasks in sciNote. The entire loop of laboratory information management—from planning an experiment, executing it, documenting experimental results, and generating reports—can thus be closed with cloud connected instruments and one ELN.

Long-Term Solutions for Irreproducibility Tackling the reproducibility crisis will ultimately require action by the worldwide scientific community, and need to focus on every aspect of science. Changing the way how traditional peer review is conducted, for instance, won’t happen overnight. Within the laboratory, however, interoperability between hardware, software and secure cloud solutions that work together to automate and optimize traditionally manual tasks will empower scientists to make an impact on reproducibility. It’s not a matter of if, but when. For the public, and scientists themselves, to put

1. Aarts, A. et. al. (2015). Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science. Science, 349(6251). doi:10.1126/science.aac4716 2. Baker, M. (2016). Biotech giant publishes failures to confirm high-profile science. Nature, 530(7589), 141-141. doi:10.1038/nature.2016.19269 3. Mullard, A. (2011). Reliability of ‘new drug target’ claims called into question. Nat Rev Drug Discov, 10(9), 643-644. doi:10.1038/ nrd3545 4. Freedman, L. P., Cockburn, I. M., & Simcoe, T. S. (2015). The Economics of Reproducibility in Preclinical Research. PLOS Biology PLoS Biol, 13(6). doi:10.1371/ journal.pbio.1002165 5. Baker, M. (2016). 1,500 scientists lift the lid on reproducibility, 533(7604). doi: 10.1038/533452a 6. Artel blog post: “Does weather affect pipetting? YES!” 7. Wenk RE. et. al. (1974). Technology of manually operated sampler pipettes. Clin Chem 20(3):320-3. 8. Millet, F. et. al. (2007). Securing accuracy and precision when pipetting hot and cold liquids with Microman®. Nature Methods, 4. doi :10.1038/nmeth1086 9. Vines, TH et. al. (2013). The Availability of Research Data Declines Rapidly with Article Age. Current Biology, 24(1). http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/j.cub.2013.11.014

Nicolas Paris is CEO of Gilson Inc. He is a marketing data scientist and an expert in sustainable development of businesses in the lab instrumentation industry. Klemen Zupancic is CEO of sciNote. He has extensive experience in the software industry. He holds a PhD in philosophy and is focused on biomedicine.

To see this story online visit http://laboratoryfocus.ca/cloud-connecting-yourpipette-and-notebook-a-bottom-up-approach-to-winningthe-reproducibility-crisis/

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b y S i kan d e r G i ll , M a xi m S lya dne v, a nd A l e xa nd er Strog a nov, L umex Ins t r ument s Canad a

Feature

Validation of colorants for color coding of lyophilized reagents in microchips

for real-time PCR AriaDNA Introduction: Various important factors play a role in refining marketability of a technology in any field including PCR technology used in pathogen detection and diagnostics. Therefore, during product development, several factors are generally taken into consideration that include sensitivity, specificity, reproducibility, accuracy, cost effectiveness, and precision. However, in addition, another important factor is the user-friendliness

or the ability of the assay to be performed by the end-user of the technology. An important attribute of a userfriendly assay is color coding of the reagents tubes with sufficient identifiers like color caps or color codes in the reagent itself to minimize technical mistakes1-3 The water-soluble colorant also facilitates the monitoring of complete mixing of the PCR reagent and a test sample4.

The microchip based real-time PCR technology is applicable to diverse applications including detection of phytopathogens in crops like potato, grapevine, fish, cattle, human diseases, and GM detection5-6. The microchips of this technology are available in two formats: (1) empty microchips to be used with liquid PCR reagents, and (2) microchips with lyophilized PCR reagents as ready-to-use kits. In the later case microchips are loaded with lyophilized reagents (0.6 µl) and

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feature Figure 1

The layout of the master mixes for test samples, positive controls, negative controls and internal controls in the microreactors of the chip is complex to a new user (Figure 1).

The layout and appearance of the microchip (a) potato pathogen detection showing the location of microreactors for C+ (positive control), C− (negative control), and IC (internal control) along with samples of potato viruses (b) The layout and appearance of the microchip. (c) before and (d) after lyophilization of PCR reagents with columns 1-6.

need only 0.6 µl of the sample to be added to each microreactor of the chip. The layout of the master mixes for test samples, positive controls, negative controls and internal controls in the microreactors of the chip is complex to a new user (Figure 1). Therefore, to add user-friendliness for better identification of these microreactors, for easy addition of test samples, we thought of adding color codes to the lyophilized reagents in the microchip. However, the colorant should not interfere with the observation of the test results of the assay. To ensure the colorants do not affect activity of polymerase and intensity of fluorescent reporter dyes of hydrolysis probes, in the present studies, we validated some colorants for their suitability in the microchipbased real-time PCR with lyophilized PCR reagents.

Materials & methods: 1. Chemicals and reagents: The real-time PCR mix was prepared with Prime-Time Gene Expression Master Mix (Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc., Coralville, Iowa, USA) along with the primers,

probes, and linear DNA (UPC1 and UPC2) also synthesized by Integrated DNA Technologies. Food colors and other colors were purchased from general shop and Sig-

Table 1 # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

ma Chemical Co. (St. Louis, MO, USA). 2. Real-time PCR analysis: The realtime PCR was set up in microchip and performed on AriaDNA analyzer (Lumex Instruments Canada, Mission, BC, Canada). The microchips were subject to PCR under the following conditions. The colorants were diluted 200x in distilled water to minimize possible interference in PCR and to impart adequate color to the reagent mix in the microchip. a. Screening of colorants: To screen various colorants, a reaction mix containing primer and probe (0.12 µl) for gene 35S of cauliflower mosaic virus or artificial sequence

served as internal control (IC), and UPC1 or UPC2 linear DNA solution (0.12 µl) was used as a positive control/sample in the microreactor of the empty chips. A panel of colorants were screened for their activity by adding 0.12 µl of the colorant per microreactor in comparison to positive control and negative control (Table 1). For each colorant, one of the 6 columns if the microchip (6 columns × 5 rows format) was used to perform 5 replicates (n=5, rows A to E). The comparison of blank colorants was also recorded on both the detection channels of the AriaDNA to determine the most compatible colorant (Table 1). Some new colorants were

Compatibility of colorant background intensity with AriaDNA channels and comparison of Ct values

Colorant Green food colorant Blue food colorant Red food colorant Magenta food colorant Qia red Gel loading green Bromophenol blue PCR control (no colorants) Yellow (green food colorant + bromophenol red) Violet (blue food colorant + bromophenol red) Black (Food colorants: red + green + blue) Bromophenol red Dark green (food green + blue food colorant) PCR control (no colorants)

Channel 1 770-920 670-770 2100-2800

Channel 2 1670-1840 2700-3120 2360-2550

5000-6150 440-525 220-240 2220-250

2950-4500 1400-2000 1900-2500 2200-2600

700-810 1260-1440 2590-2910 1650-1990

2440-2750 2000-2310 2750-3170 1900-2220

450-520

1450-1950

720-830 690-850

1640-1920 1820-2150

Ct CV% (n=5) 21.34 21.51 23.30 22.66 3.2 21.40 22.04 21.63 22.48 23.26 23.46 23.91 1.5 23.85 23.19 23.05

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feature Table 2

Figure 2

a. Comparison of Ct values of different colorants on channel-1 (FAM) in lyophilized microchips Microchip 1

Microchip 2

Microchip 3

Channel 1 (FAM)

Blue

19.51

19.47

Green

19.46

Red

19.64

Yellow

Colorant

Mean

CV%

19.47

0.04

0.21

19.45

19.53

19.48

0.04

0.22

19.41

19.64

19.56

0.13

0.68

19.4

19.32

19.78

19.50

0.25

1.26

Violet

19.54

19.56

19.91

19.67

0.21

1.06

Positive control

19.51

19.41

19.04

19.32

0.25

1.28

b. Comparison of Ct values of different colorants on channel-2 (ROX) in lyophilized microchips Microchip 1

Microchip 2

Microchip 3

Channel 2 (ROX)

Blue

18.37

18.31

Green

18.4

18.28

Red

18.42

Yellow

Colorant

Mean

CV%

18.69

18.46

0.20

1.11

18.75

18.48

0.24

1.32

18.31

18.79

18.51

0.25

1.36

18.22

18.24

18.59

18.35

0.21

1.13

Violet

18.36

18.31

18.02

18.23

0.18

1.01

Positive control

18.39

18.32

18.67

18.46

0.19

1.00

derived by combining native dyes determined compatible both with the PCR reagents and the detection channels of AriaDNA (Table 1). Accordingly, the yellow and violet colorants were derived by mixing blue food dye with red food dye, and green food dye with red food dye, respectively. The addition of the reaction mix in the microchip was quickly followed by the overlaying of 620 µl of silicone oil layer to contain evaporation of the reagents during processing and thermocycling. b. Compatibility of colorants with lyophilization: For lyophilization studies on colorants in the reagents mix included primers & probes (0.12 µl) for each of the two genes potato actin (PoAc-FAM), and internal control (IC-ROX) was used. Stabilizer solution (0.24 µl), and 0.12 µl of different colorants per microreactor was also added to the 6 columns of the empty microchip reactors (6 columns × 5 rows format), respectively in 5 replicates (n=5, rows A to E). Controls were run without any colorant. Three microchips loaded with reagents and colorants were lyophilized initially for 1 h 20 min

at -40°C and 1 Pa vacuum. One microchip was processed to determine the PCR activity after this step. The other two of the microchips were further continued to lyophilization for 1 h at 20 °C and 1 Pa vacuum. PCR was performed on the second microchip after room temperature storage for 20 min, while the third microchip was used for PCR after room temperature storage for 96 h after lyophilization. Prior to performing the realtime PCR, 620 µl of silicone oil was laid over the microreactors in the chip which was followed by the addition of the UPC1 and UPC2 (0.12 µl) to each of the microreactors as positive control/sample under the oil layer. c. Amplification and analysis: The amplification was performed with thermal condition: Hold 94 °C for 180 s followed by 45 cycles of 94 °C for 1s and 60 °C for 30 s. For each well, a fluorescent light emission was recorded using two detection channels. Analysis was based on the Ct values of the PCR curves. The Ct value is the PCR cycle at which the fluorescence measured between each cycle exceeds a threshold determined by back-

(a) Screening of various food colorants: blue (green curve), Green (blue curve), red (sky blue curve), magenta (red curve) for their compatibility with channel-1 of AriaDNA along with PCR control (violet curve), and negative control (yellow curve). (b) Screening of the same colorants for compatibility with channel-2 of the system along with PCR control (violet curve), and negative control (yellow curve). (c) green food colorant, blue food colorant, bromophenol blue, bromophenol red, gel loading green dye, and water where amplification with all the colorants was equivalent to that of positive control. The colorants bromophenol blue and gel loading dye had slight concern. (d) Blue curve from yellow colorant (food green + bromophenol red), green curve from blue food colorant + bromophenol red, red curve from black (bromophenol blue + gel loading green dye), sky blue curve from bromophenol red, violet curve from dark green (food green + food blue), and yellow curve from PCR positive control using plasmid.

ground fluorescence at baseline and is placed in the exponential phase of the amplification curve. The threshold and baseline were set automatically by software or were user-defined.

Results and discussion: The colorants can play an important role in user-friendliness of the realtime PCR assay as the colors act as visual markers for the reagents locations in the microchips. The microreactor being very miniaturised (L 1.5 mm × W 1.5 mm × D 150 µm) in appearance, may lead to confusion during liquid handling into the microchips. The layout and appearance of the empty microchip with colorants in PCR reagents, before and after lyophilization with colorants blue, green, red, magenta, violet, and no colorant, respectively filled in the columns 1-6 (Figure 1). The use of 35S-FAM and IC-ROX primers and probe sets was found to be successful in carrying screening of the panel of colorants including food green, food blue colorant, magenta, food red colorant, and violet colorant in comparison to the PCR control without any colorants. The blue, green, and red food colorants were

The colorants can play an important role in user-friendliness of the real-time PCR assay as the colors act as visual markers for the reagents locations in the microchips.

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Feature

Figure 3

a. a.

a. b.

The presence or absence of colorants blue food colorant (blue curve), green food colorant (green curve), red food colorant (red curve|), yellow (sky blue curve), violet (violet curve), and no colorant (yellow curve) in the PoAc-FAM detected on (a) channel-1 (FAM), and IC-ROX on Channel-2 in comparison with channel-1 does in the partly lyophilized microchip, (b) channel-1 (FAM), and IC-ROX on Channel-2 in comparison with channel-1 in the fully lyophilized microchip. (c) channel-1 (FAM), and IC-ROX on Channel-2 in comparison with channel-1 in the microchip does not indicate any impact on the PCR efficiency or activity of the PCR reagents in the fully lyophilized microchip after 11- day incubation at room temperature.

The blue, green, and red food colorants were found to be compatible with both the FAM and ROX channels of the analyzer AriaDNA while magenta and violet had minor influence on FAM-channel signal intensity (Figure 3a,b).

found to be compatible with both the FAM and ROX channels of the analyzer AriaDNA while magenta and violet had minor influence on FAM-channel signal intensity (Figure 3a,b). Similarly, the screening of bromophenol blue, bromophenol red, and gel loading green dye in comparison to the green, blue and positive control did not show any concern during the amplification (Figure 3c,d). Since the blue, green, and red food colorants, bromophenol red, bromophenol blue, and gel loading green dye were compatible and other colors could be derived by mixing these colorants with one another. Therefore, additional colorants could be generating by mixing different color combination as yellow (food green + bromophenol red), dark green (food green + food blue), black (bromophenol blue + gel loading green dye) as shown in Table 1. The derivative colors generated from compatible colorants were also found to be compatible for the successful PCR equivalent to that of the positive control (Figure 4). However, from the comparison of the intensity of the blank colorants, some colorants were not found to be compatible due to high optical absorbance (Table 1). Therefore, food colorants blue, green, red, and their derivatives were selected for the onward work in the lyophilized microchips. The presence or absence of colorants blue, green, red, yellow, and violet for both PoAc-FAM detected on channel-1 (FAM), and IC-ROX detected on Channel-2 in the partly lyophilized microchip does not indicate any impact on activity of the PCR reagents

(Figure 4 a,b). Similarly, the presence or absence of these colorants did not affect the PCR activity of the lyophilized reagents in the fully lyophilized microchip (Figure 4 c,d). However, due to the exposure of the third lyophilized chip to the ambient air at room temperature for 11 days indicates that IC-ROX at channel 2 did not have any impact on its activity, while the PoAc-FAM at channel Channel-1 appears to be compromised probably due to the hygroscopic nature of stabilizer components and the lyophilized mass (Figure 4e,f). These observations were also supported by the comparison of Ct values of different colorants on channel-1 and 2 in these two lyophilized microchips processed for different duration that indicates the Ct values differ from positive controls with a CV of 0.03-1.47%, and 0.03-0.56%, respectively (Table 2a,b). These observations suggest that these colorants can be successfully used to add user-friendliness of the ready-to-use lyophilized microchips. However, for the 3rd chip exposed to ambient conditions for 11 days the CV and Ct values for the ROX channel was unaffected but the data for FAM channel resulted in CV of 4.49-5.21% and increase of the Ct values due to possible absorption of moisture from the atmosphere. It needs further to be compared with lyophilized microchips kept in a moisture-controlled dry environment for the same duration.

References: 1. Pappas, M.G. The biotech business handbook: how to organize and operate a biotechnol-

ogy business including the most promising applications for the 1990s. 1994 Additional Standards for Diagnostic Substances for Lab. Tests 21 CFR 660 -1-933734-35-3, US FDA Title 21 CFR Parts Thermo Scientific™ Luminaris™ Color HiGreen qPCR Master Mixes. https://www.fishersci. com/shop/products/luminaris-color-higreen-qpcr-mastermixes/p-4527040 Park, H.O., and Kim, J.J. Lyophilized reagent for polymerase chain reaction. US 5861251 A. Bioneer Corporation. 1199 Sikander Gill, Maxim Slyadnev, Alexander Stroganov. Optimization of paramagnetic bead based nucleic acid isolation for high throughput potato pathogen detection using microchip real-time PCR. Laboratory Focus, 2016, 2094): 8-11. Navolotskii D.V., Perchik A.V., Mark’yanov I.A., Ganeev A.A., and Slyadnev M.N.: Microchip Analytic System for Multiplex Analysis by Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction with Reagents Immobilized in Microreactors. Applied Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2011, 47: 221–227.

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Laboratory Focus May/June 2017

Pharma Notes Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (Laval, Que) has entered into an agreement to sell its iNova Pharmaceuticals business for $930 million in cash to a company jointly owned by funds advised and managed by Pacific Equity Partners and The Carlyle Group. iNova’s diversified portfolio includes prescription and over-the-counter products in several areas, such as weight management, pain management, cardiology and cough and colds. It operates in more than 15 countries around the world. iNova holds market positions in Australia and South Africa and also has an established platform in Asia. Valeant will maintain a strong footprint in these countries primarily through its Bausch + Lomb franchise. Valeant will use proceeds from the sale to permanently repay term loan debt under its Senior Secured Credit Facility. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2017, subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals. Oncolytics Biotech Inc., (Calgary) announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation for Reolysin, the company’s proprietary immuno-oncology viral agent, for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. The company is gearing to conduct an End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA as soon as is practical and obtain scientific guidance, said Dr. Matt Coffey, president and CEO of Oncolytics Biotech. In April 2017, data from an open-label, randomized, Phase 2 study assessing the therapeutic combination of intravenously-administered Reolysin given in combination with the chemotherapy agent paclitaxel versus paclitaxel alone, in patients with advanced or metastatic breast cancer (IND 213) was presented at the American Association of Cancer Research Annual Meeting. The combined treatment demonstrated a statistically significant increase in median overall survival. Based on Oncolytics’ evolving understanding of Reolysin’s mechanism of action, along with the positive overall survival data generated to date, the company is pursuing metastatic breast cancer as its primary focus for late-stage clinical testing. Sanofi (Laval, Que.) reported that that the Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee (EMDAC) of the U.S. FDA recommended the approval of the New Drug Application (NDA) for the investigational fixed-ratio combina-

tion of basal insulin glargine 100 Units/mL and GLP-1 receptor agonist lixisenatide for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes. The 15-member panel voted 12 to 2 (1 panelist did not vote due to travel) to approve the fixed-ratio combination of basal insulin glargine 100 Units/mL and GLP-1 receptor agonist lixisenatide. The U.S. NDA submission for the fixed-ratio combination of basal insulin glargine 100 Units/mL and GLP-1 receptor agonist lixisenatide is based on data

from two Phase 3 studies, which enrolled more than 1,900 adults worldwide to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the fixed-ratio combination of basal insulin glargine 100 Units/mL and GLP-1 receptor agonist lixisenatide when used in patient populations insufficiently controlled after oral antidiabetic agents (OADs) and after basal insulin therapy, respectively. Both studies met their primary endpoints. The full results of both studies will be presented in June 2016 at the

American Diabetes Association’s 76th Scientific Sessions. Lixisenatide is currently approved in more than 60 countries worldwide under the proprietary name Lyxumia. The fixed-ratio combination of basal insulin glargine 100 Units/mL and GLP-1 receptor agonist lixisenatide was submitted for regulatory review in the European Union in March 2016 and has not yet been approved for use by any health authority.

Give kids like Greer every chance to get better.

PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE THE MIRACLES ARE.

GREER 6 YEARS OLD

Greer’s remarkable recovery from a horseback riding accident was helped by community donations. Children’s Miracle Network® dollars provided a private PICU room and also purchased the pediatric CT scanner which analyzed her traumatic brain injury. Showing no fear of the animal that crushed the right side of her face, Greer is happy to be “back in the saddle” and now wears a special helmet for added safety during her weekly riding lessons. Children’s Miracle Network raises funds and awareness for 170 member hospitals, 14 of which are in Canada. Donations stay local to fund critical treatments and healthcare services, pediatric medical equipment and research. Its various fundraising partners and programs support the nonproﬁt’s mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible. Find out why children’s hospitals need community support, ﬁnd your member hospital and learn how you can Put Your Money Where the Miracles Are, at childrensmiraclenetwork.ca and facebook.com/CMNHospitals.

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to your local children’s hospital foundation

New Products Spectrometric kits Thermo Scientific says its recently-launched ready-to-use InsuQuant Mass Spectrometric Immunoassay Kit will streamline insulin bioanalysis procedures for biopharmaceutical researchers, as well as for workers in the sports anti-doping industry. The kit incorporates all necessary reagents and consumables needed in the pre-analytical stage of the LC-MS workflow in a convenient, easyto-use platform. With the new product, researchers no longer need to make buffers and match reagents, thus saving resources and reducing the risk of human errors in complex protocols. “Current protein purification methodologies require researchers to source their own reagents and buffers, which can result in complex, lengthy procedures that leave more room for error and inconsistencies during downstream analysis,” said Sam Bonfig, product manager for affinity consumables products, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “Our goal is to simplify our customers’ workflows, and our new kit does just that by providing an out-of-the-box solution containing insulin standards, elution solvents, an LC column, and all other components needed to run the pre-analytical affinity capture of insulin.” A proprietary microcolumn technology enables the InsuQuant Mass Spectrometric Kit to make advanced detection of endogenous insulin and its exogenous analogues in the tip of a pipette, while also reducing background and improving reproducibility. The kit is fully compatible with both the Thermo Scientific Versette automated liquid handler and the Finnpipette Novus i multichannel electronic pipette. Following sample preparation with the InsuQuant Mass Spectrometric Kit, users can achieve accurate, precise and sensitive separation on the Thermo Scientific Vanquish Flex Quaternary UHPLC system, and perform quantification of complex insulin analogues using the Thermo Scientific Q Exactive Hybrid Quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometer. The mass spectrometric immunoassay (MSIA) methodology has demonstrated pg/mL levels of detection while yielding simultaneous qualitative and quantitative data from complex biological matrices, making it well suited for use with plasma. The kit will be on display at the annual American Society of Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) Conference from June 4-8 in the Thermo Fisher Hospitality Suite, White River Ballroom F, at the JW Marriott in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Web: www.thermofisher.com/order/catalog/product/991INSK96

3D surgery simulator The efforts to get more physicians trained to perform a pulmonary endarterectomy got a boost through the work of National Research Council of Canada (NRC) researchers that developed a “first-of-itskind” pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) surgery simulator. The first simulator is now in operation at the Toronto Western Hospital. “The National Research Council developed one more tool to help Canadian doctors better serve their patients,” said Roman Szumski, vice president, life sciences, NRCC. “Our expertise makes us a unique collaborator for companies developing simulators for doctors and healthcare practitioners to perform complex and challenging medical techniques.” The simulator was built with the help of an innovation fund from Bayer Inc. The simulator may reduce the training time for residents by up to six months.

Web: http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/index.html

May/June 2017 Laboratory Focus www.laboratoryfocus.ca

Cell washers A new automated, high-performance cell washer is capable of reproducible and rapid blood cell washing of up to 24 tubes in a three-minute run. The Thermo Scientific CW3 Cell Washer was engineered to combine the benefits of efficient performance with user-friendly design and safe operation. Users can select one of the pre-set programs that have been designed to run in automatic mode, accelerate blood cell washing cycles and achieve significant time savings, according to laboratory equipment maker Thermo Fisher Scientific. “Effective blood cell washing is extremely important in the removal of plasma and unwanted antibodies to ensure that patients will not be affected by adverse health effects and that blood-transfused products will retain all of their beneficial attributes,” said Hugh Tansey, global product director, centrifugation, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “To address this issue, we’ve developed a novel cell washer to help clinical, hospital and serological laboratories, as well as the blood bank and transfusion centers, fulfill their fundamental mission to promote the well-being of patients.” The washer has been designed to achieve optimal corpuscle dryness by allowing users to pre-set the desired decanting speed. At the same time, corpuscle washing is improved via the optional overflow method. The tubes swing at a fixed positive angle to sediment cells rapidly at the bottom of the tube, whereas when decanting, the rotor holds tubes at a slightly negative angle and the saline is decanted centrifugally. Technicians also have a choice of using 12 or 24-place rotors. The CW3 Cell Washer features an automatic alert mechanism that informs users about low or disrupted saline levels and when a run is complete. A viewport on top of the unit facilitates quick calibration, while the saline distributor is mounted directly on top of the rotor to reduce the risk of cross-contamination. The new washer is also equipped with tube racks bearing red and blue number labeling for easy sample balancing. When closed-monitoring of the washing process is required, the system can be operated manually to allow for cells that need to be washed step-by-step. As a low maintenance instrument, the CW3 Cell Washer includes easy-to-change pump tubing and an easy-to-remove catch basin, rotor and rotating bowl.

Web: /www.thermofisher.com/ca/en/home.html

Ventilation control Air quality solutions company Aircuity has released a new tool designed to help laboratory operators better control their ventilation systems and significantly reduce their energy bills. The company’s Aircuity 2.0 system includes Aircuity’s new MyAircuity web and desktop application. The software provides building owners and facility managers relevant information and visibility into their facilities’ ventilation system. It delivers data and insights that can help them make smarter decisions regarding the management of ventilation systems. The MyAircuity app goes beyond providing simple data trends. It delivers “deeper analytics” of cost and energy savings, indoor environmental quality responses, and even occupant behavours, the company said. Aircuity 2.0 also includes physical system upgrades. Aircuity made a significant investment to enhance the intelligence of its devices so the system can better “watch itself” and has migrated its data centre to Microsoft Azure.

Web: http://www.aircuity.com/

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Laboratory Focus May/June 2017

Cytometry systems Cytek Biosciences Inc., launched its new Aurora advanced flow cytometry system. The company said its latest product offers improved capabilities beyond those found in some higher-priced systems. “Cytek has evolved to address an unmet need,” noted Dr. Wenbin Jiang, CEO of Cytek Biosciences. “With Aurora, more labs will have the ability to obtain deeper biological insights from a single sample. This will have a significant impact on research and clinical application fields such as immunology, oncology and systems biology.” Aurora enables a 20+ colour capability, using three excitation lasers and 50 channels. Innovative enhancements include excitation optics and compact semiconductor detector modules with high quantum efficiency. These allow for the implementation of more detection channels per laser than conventional flow cytometry systems. Depending on the laser excitation wavelength, this permits detection of any fluorescence emission in the 400-900nm range without having to change optical filters. Aurora’s optical design and unmixing algorithm enable the use of a wide array of dyes, including those with highly overlapping spectra. This is not possible using conventional cytometry, according to the company. Aurora will be demonstrated at the industry’s premier flow cytometry conference, CYTO 2017, in Boston from June 10-14 at booth #86. Aurora joins Cytek’s existing lineup of flow cytometry solutions, all of which are backed by Cytek’s comprehensive service plan offerings.

Web: www.cytekbio.com

Autoclaves Priorclave Ltd., a London-based manufacturing company with operations in Canada and the United States, offers autoclave units ideal for small laboratories. With autoclave cabinets ranging from 40-60L models to 230-700L models, the company has got most benchtop to compact floor-model autoclave needs covered. The company’s products are ideal for pharmaceutical, healthcare, agricultural and other research applications. The products’ compact and flexible design make them suitable for sterilization applications, media preparation, liquids, waste, and glass instruments. Bench-mounting Priorclave autoclaves are available in large 40L or 60L capacities using the minimum of bench space. They come with two stainless steel shelves and optional mounting stands, stainless baskets, and stainless waste containers are available. Both capacities are available as vacuum models. Priorclave double-ended autoclaves are available in capacities from 150 to 700L and above with other sizes available on request. They are available either electrically or direct steam heated and can be fitted with steam/water jackets if required. Priorclave front-loading autoclaves are available in 100, 150 and 200 and 320L capacities heated either electrically or by direct steam. All models are castor mounted for ease of positioning and are fitted with two non-tipping shelves. A range of stainless steel baskets, waste containers, and loading trolleys are available to suit these autoclaves. Priorclave rectangular section autoclaves combine a huge internal capacity with a small floor area. They are available in capacities from 230L to 700L and above. Castor mounted for ease of positioning, they are available either electrically or direct steam heated and feature a simple, two hand wheel hinged door closure. All models are fitted with two non-tipping shelves and a range of stainless steel baskets, waste containers, and loading trolleys are available to suit these autoclaves. These models are optionally available with steam/water jackets if required.

Web: www.priorclave.co.uk/

New Products Microscopes Zeiss released a new line of focused ion beam scanning electron microscopes (FIB-SEMs) that significantly increases image resolution and material characterization enabling researchers to ramp up their sample preparations. The new Zeiss Crossbeam 550 allows simultaneous modification and monitoring of samples, resulting in fast sample preparation and high throughput for applications such as: cross-sectioning, TEM lamella preparation or nanopatterning. Nanostructures such as composites, metals, biomaterials or semiconductors can be investigated with analytical and imaging methods in parallel. The equipment provides quality 2D and 3D imaging. In the life sciences, Zeiss Crossbeam 550 delivers enhanced resolution at low voltages and an outstanding stability for long-term 3D tomography. It is possible to integrate the new workstation into correlative workflows and to combine it with light, X-ray or ion beam microscopy. Zeiss Crossbeam 550 replaces its predecessor the Crossbeam 540 and is available in a variation with a large chamber for the first time. The Crossbeam 550’s new Tandem decel mode enables enhanced resolution together with a maximization of image contrast at low landing energies. The Crossbeam 550 uses Zeiss’s Gemini II electron optics which delivers optimum resolution at low voltage and high probe current simultaneously, the company said. The FIB column combines the highest available FIB current of 100 nA with the new FastMill mode, allowing for precise and efficient material processing and imaging in parallel. The new process for automated emission recovery increases the user-friendliness and optimizes the FIB column for reproducible results during long-term experiments.

Web: www.zeiss.com/microscopy/int/products/fib-sem-instruments/ crossbeam.html

Imaging equipment According to Logos Biosystems, its latest Celena S Digital Imaging System will enable even non-technical personnel to capture high-quality digital images suitable for a variety of life sciences use. The multi-purpose Celena S Digital Imaging System incorporates an onstage incubator and is designed to simplify high-resolution fluorescence, brightfield, and phase contrast imaging, according to the South Korean maker of laboratory automation and imaging products. The Celena S is a fully integrated digital imaging system that incorporates an inverted microscope, a high sensitivity CMOS camera, LED light sources, fluorescence filters, a computer, and image capture and analysis software into one device. The system comes with interchangeable objectives and LED filter cubes. The Celena S can accommodate a wide range of fluorescence and brightfield applications. The intuitive software makes sophisticated imaging simple, such as time-lapse imaging, Z-stack imaging, and image-based automated cell counting. An onstage incubation system provides the option to precisely control the environmental temperature, humidity, and gas content to cells for sensitive live cell imaging.

Web: http://logosbio.com/digital_microscope/CELENA_S/features.php

Laboratory Focus May/June 2017 www.laboratoryfocus.ca

Trailblazers in sciences, humanities, engineering celebrated in

2017 Killam Awards

For 50 years now, the Killam Awards, one of the country’s most prestigious prizes for outstanding achievements, has been honouring Canadian scholars and scientists actively engaged in research, in various fields of interest. The Killam Program was funded in 1967 through the contribution of Mrs. Dorothy J. Killam, in honour of the memory and exceptional achievements of her husband, Izaak Walton Killam. Each year the program awards five prizes of $100,000 to individuals in the fields of humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences, and engineering. Through the years it has been noted to many recipients of the Killam have gone on to distinguish themselves further in their careers. This year’s winners are: John Burrows, of the University of Victoria, for social sciences; W. Ford Doolittle, of Dalhousie University, for natural sciences; Thomas Hurka, University of Toronto, for humanities; Julio Montaner, University of British Columbia, for health sciences; and Molly Shoichet, of the University of Toronto, for engineering. W. Ford Doolittle is an evolutionary and molecular biologist. His area of interest integrates the philosophy of biology and genomic research on previously controversial notions of the “tree of life” and Gaia Theory. Doolittle has been the director of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research’s Evolutionary Biology program for 20 years. He received NSERC’s 2013 Gerhard Herzberg Gold Medal. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Doolittle’s work in molecular genetics includes the study of lateral gene transfer, a key driver of microbial evolution and the proposition of an alternative “web of life” theory. Doolittle’s more 300 published works are experimental (dealing in chloroplasts and nuclear origins, archaeal genetics, gene transfer and metagenomics) and theoretical (origins of genes, “selfish DNA,” meaning of the Tree of Life, levels of selection). A physician and researcher, Julio Montaner he is credited for saving millions of lives worldwide with his bold work on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy and the creation of the “Treatment as Prevention” strategy. He is professor of medicine, chair of AIDS research, and head of the division of AIDS in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He is the director of the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CFE), a program at St. Paul’s Hospital (SPH), Providence Health Care (PHC); the national co-director of the Canadian HIV Trials Network and a past president of the International AIDS Society (IAS). Montaner supports harm reduction, including safe injection sites and needle exchange programs and is currently working with the World Health Organization on prevention strategies for viral hepatitis. Tissue and polymer engineering, targeted drug delivery, tissue regeneration and stem cell research; these are the areas that Molly Shoichet concentrates on. She holds the Tier 1 Canada research chair in tissue engineering at the University of Toronto, and is senior advisor on science and engineering engagement to Meric Gertler, president of the University of Toronto. Shoichet has published over 500 papers, patents and abstracts, and given over hundreds of lectures worldwide in the fields of regenerative medicine, tissue engineering and drug delivery. She leads a laboratory of 30 and has graduated 162 researchers. Shoichet is the only person to be a fellow of Canada’s three national academies of science, engineering, and health sciences. She was L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science North American laureate for 2015. She holds the Order of Ontario, is a university professor, and a foreign member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.

app review Genetics 4 Medics

hhttp://genetics4medics.com/index.html

Genetics for Medics is an Android and iOS medical genetics mobile app which allows users to search for information on over 200 genetic conditions, including syndromes. The amount of information you can access is astounding. The app provides access to digital literature on each condition, cases studies, therapies and typical treatments. There are also pictures of chromosomal location of conditions. The app is US$4.99 and is available from the Android and iOS store.

DNA/RNA Protein and General Mol. Weight Calculator https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ dna-rna-protein-general-molecular/ id408366615?mt=8

Its name is quite a mouthful, but this free application for iOS devices is an ideal biochemical pocket companion, according to its maker Wiley Publishing. Copy and paste or type in any nucleic acid-based sequence, any protein or peptide amino acid sequence, or any standard chemical formula, the app will provide you its molecular weight. The app also lists 1,200 of the most commonly encountered organic and inorganic compounds.

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Keep Growing The BioFlo® 120—easy to use, ﬂexible, dependable The straightforward setup and process > Push button Auto Culture modes for microbial and cell culture applications control of the BioFlo 120 let you focus > Flexible operation with glass or on what is important, your work. BioBLU® Single-Use Vessels Designed to seamlessly integrate > Scalable expanded working volume into your day-to-day operation, the range (250 mL–40 L) BioFlo 120 bioreactor/fermentor > Universal connections for digital and emphasizes simplicity and ease of analog sensors use, with no sacriﬁce on capability.

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