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2 August 2008 | By
Stem cells have two important characteristics that distinguish them from other cells: the ability to self-renew through cell division for a prolonged period, and to differentiate into multiple cells with specialised functions. The power of stem cells for tissue development, regeneration and renewal has been well known to embryologists for…
2 August 2008 | By
The theme of the meeting is “Proteome Biology”. In spite of the amazing complexity of the proteome, the field of proteomics has matured to a degree where significant progress in biology and medicine can be realised. This expectation is based on rapid progress in the development of powerful proteomics technologies…
2 August 2008 | By
Cell-based assays are essential for drug discovery and development as they increase the quality of lead compounds due to their physiological relevance. Toxicological data can be gathered during the early phases of hit selection and verification, reducing costs and attrition rates during clinical trials.
2 August 2008 | By
What were the drivers that helped launch the laboratory information management system (LIMS) and electronic laboratory notebook (ELN)? This article will trace the history of LIMS and ELN from their emergence into the future. Technology development did play a big role to be sure, but the desire of scientists to…
2 August 2008 | By
Following the highly successful meeting in 2007, the European Laboratory Robotics Interest Group (ELRIG) and the Society of Biomolecular Sciences (SBS), are pleased to announce that their Drug Discovery: 2008 Meeting will be held at the Bournemouth International Centre, (BIC), UK, on 23 & 24 September 2008.
2 August 2008 | By
Chromatin is a nucleoprotein complex, found in eukaryotic organisms, consisting of approximately 50% DNA and 50% histone proteins. The histones undergo a number of reversible covalent chemical modifications (for example, acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation), especially in the N-terminal regions. These chemical changes prepare chromatin for a range of essential cellular processes…
2 August 2008 | By
Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is a widely used technique within the pharmaceutical industry because the range of phase transitions it can measure usually allows near complete physical characterisation of a new active principal early during preformulation. In addition, because DSC measures a property change that is ubiquitous† (heat) there are…
2 August 2008 | By
Advanced Aseptic Processing (AAP) is a term referenced in the recently published ISPE RABS definition1 to cover the spectrum of Restricted Access Barrier Systems (RABS) and isolator systems. In general, AAP techniques are physical barrier methods of product protection and containment that are used during manufacturing operations to separate (primarily)…
2 August 2008 | By
Dr. Janet Woodcock’s exhortation (ISPE Annual Meeting, 7 November 2005) that 21st century life science manufacturers should be ‘maximally efficient, agile and flexible’ and produce high quality drug products ‘without extensive regulatory oversight’ has been widely reported as a wake-up call to our industry.
2 August 2008 | By
As one of the world’s leading suppliers of products, solutions, and services to the Life Sciences sector, ABB is uniquely positioned to meet the current and future business and regulatory needs of the Life Sciences industry including Pharmaceuticals, Biopharma, and Biomedical...
19 July 2008 | By
MALDI FT-ICR MS platform for proteomics: Rationale for an offline approach and optimised implementation A number of sophisticated approaches have been developed to study the structure and function of genes, including the whole-scale sequencing of entire organisms[1], global transcriptional profiling[2], and forward genetic studies[3]. However, these techniques are ultimately limited…
19 June 2008 | By
Phenotypic drug discovery (PDD) has come of age – again. Using a microscope to observe a cell, one of the oldest techniques available to a cellular biologist dates back to the 17th century studies of Antony van Leeuwenhoek and his characterisation of ‘animalcules’. These early analyses, which simply described the…
19 June 2008 | By
European Pharmaceutical Review has brought together four individuals from different sides of the scientific palette to discuss current and future issues surrounding secondary screening and maximising its potential.
19 June 2008 | By
Drug discovery relies on massive screening of compound libraries with in vitro cell-based target assays. These pharmacological screens have been well accepted. For in vitro toxicological screening, this privilege has only been obtained for the Ames, chromosomal aberration and eye irritation tests. At the moment, a number of cellular assays…
19 June 2008 | By Dr Stefan Przyborski, Chief Scientific Officer, ReInnervate Ltd, School of Biological and Biomedical Science, Durham University
Cell culture assays play an important role during the first stages of pharmaceutical development. The design of such in vitro models is significant and data resulting from such tests directly influences the progression of compound development. Therefore it is becoming progressively more important to design cell culture assays that are…
