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February/March 2018 Laboratory Focus www.laboratoryfocus.ca
New Products Reagent kit for toxicokinetic studies Gyros Protein Technologies AB, announces a new reagent kit for early-stage biotherapeutic toxicokinetic (TK) studies. The new Gyrolab Generic TK Kit adds to a growing list of ready-to-use kits, and allows researchers to more efficiently quantify human therapeutic antibodies (IgG) in automated, nanoliter-scale Gyrolab xP and Gyrolab xPlore systems. The Gyrolab Generic TK kit complements the Gyrolab Generic Pharmacokinetic (PK) Kit, introduced earlier in 2017, which is based on the same reagents. The TK Kit addresses a higher concentration range compared to the PK Kit, making it more suited to toxicokinetic studies. Together the kits more fully meet the needs of Gyrolab system users performing PK/TK assays in preclinical and clinical studies. The kits eliminate the need for assay development, as they are supplied in a ready-to-use format, and enable increased productivity as results are generated in just 70 minutes. The two kits cover a combined range of 5 logs, minimizing dilution steps and repeats when performing human IgG quantification in early biotherapeutic development. The kits are designed for use with several species of preclinical animal models, including mouse and cynomolgus monkey.
https://www.gyrosproteintechnologies.com/
Pulsatile blood pumps The Harvard Apparatus Pulsatile Blood Pump is ideal for numerous cardiovascular studies. It closely mimicks the ventricular action of the heart, to provide physiological advantages for perfusion, blood transfers, blood cellular profile studies and more. The positive piston action prevents changes in flow rates, overcoming any variations in resistance or back pressure. The external control interfaces allow for the generation of advanced waveforms and increased control over pressure curves. The ventricular action provides physiological advantages in blood flow for perfusion in cardiovascular and haemodynamic studies. It is ideal for isolated organ perfusion, whole body perfusion, blood transfers, hydration/dehydration procedures, and blood cellular profile studies. A positive piston actuator and ball check valves provide the proportioning action. The product of stroke rate times stroke volume is an accurate indicator of the flow rate. Positive piston action prevents changes in flow rates, regardless of variations in resistance or back pressure. The piston always travels to the end of the ejection stroke, independent of the volume pumped, and the pump completely empties at each cycle. Harvard Apparatus offers the pumping head in polysulfone. The standard models use acrylic which must be sterilized using ethylene oxide or other methods. This new material makes it much easier to maintain sterility. The pump can be controlled from an external voltage source – 0 to 10 volt DC signal can be used to control the stroke rate and phasing of the pump. External control interfaces the blood pump with a computer to generate advanced cardiovascular waveforms and more control over pressure curves.
https://www.harvardapparatus.com/
Assays for liquid biopsy Thermo Fisher Scientific expands its Oncomine portfolio with new assays for liquid biopsy and immuno-oncology to complement its comprehensive solutions for clinical research. Pan-Cancer Cell-Free Total Nucleic Acid Assay The Ion Torrent Oncomine Pan-Cancer CellFree Assay allows reproducible detection and analysis of tumour DNA and RNA across all major classes of somatic mutations (SNVs, indels, CNVs and fusions) from a single vial of blood with as little as 1ng of nucleic acid input within two days. It targets more than 50 genes across multiple cancer types, including lung, colorectal, breast, pancreatic, thyroid and others. Analysis of tumour DNA and RNA from blood has rapidly become a non-invasive alternative to sequencing tissue samples. It also holds promise as a method to accelerate targeted clinical trials, targeted therapy selection, disease monitoring and drug resistance. Tumour Mutation Load Assay Joins Growing Immuno-Oncology Portfolio The Ion Torrent Oncomine Tumour Mutation Load Assay is based on a carefully selected set of 409 genes that can be sequenced using as little as 20 nanograms of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) DNA. The assay is designed to improve potential selection strategies for immune therapy clinical trials. The Oncomine Immune Response Research Assay characterizes gene expression in a tumour microenvironment for immune response pathways. Each of the new assays integrate with Ion Torrent sample preparation, targeted sequencing and downstream bioinformatics and reporting tools.
http://www.thermofisher.com/ca/en/home.html
Assay plates Eppendorf twin.tec PCR Plates LoBind are designed to maximize the yield of target molecules. DNA is less likely to bind to polypropylene and will thus remain within the liquid of the reaction. The plates improve recovery of nucleic acids by reducing their absorption to the tube wall. With a combination of special manufacturing technologies and selected polypropylene batches, they will ensure nearly 100 per cent recovery of DNA/RNA molecules-without surface coating to eliminate the risk of sample contamination. twin.tec PCR Plates LoBind are batch-tested and certified by an independent laboratory to be free from DNA, DNase, RNase and PCR inhibitors. The plates feature LoBind material that guarantees maximum sample recovery for improved assay results. They are a one-piece design that combines a polycarbonate frame and polypropylene wells for optimum performance. The extremely thin-walled polypropylene wells guarantee optimum heat transfer to the sample, with raised well rims for effective sealing to reduce the risk of cross-contamination and an exceptionally solid and torque-resistant polycarbonate frame. The OptiTrack matrix for faster sample identification and fewer pipetting errors and is ideal for quantitative real-time PCR.
http://ccc.eppendorf.com/
