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TouchDown
BioInnovation
Focus issue on Oncology Research
 Welcome
to our series of newsletters, providing insight into the latest
cutting-edge technologies within life sciences. At TouchDown, we
provide visibility to scientific project managers and technology
officers for new innovative life science technology & services
companies entering the global marketplace. Please visit our website for more details.
In this
edition, we
feature technologies being utilised in the area of oncology research.
We include a pre-clinical optical imaging technology, ELISA kits
for a range of tumour antigens, and an RNA amplification System for
handling poor quality or low amounts of RNA.
For more information on any of these technologies, please click the
links below or email us at info@touchdown-bioinnovation.com.
ART
Advanced Research Technologies
Bringing your oncology research to a new level
 Optical
small animal in vivo imaging in cancer research is very promising,
allowing a more thorough understanding of tumour biology.
Optix®
can locate and characterize tumours even when they are deep in the
animal’s body. The device’s high sensitivity
detects subtle
variations in fluorescence probes, giving quantitative information on
the tumour’s distribution, activity, and response to
treatment.
Our technology provides picomole limits of detection in small
animal models, with greater depth and specificity. These
characteristics make optical imaging particularly relevant in cancer
research. This state-of-the-art technology allows researchers to fuse
optical data with microCT data, resulting in a full 3D anatomical
reference. More information, including Application Bulletins
on
oncology topics, is available online.
 The
Fenestra® line of imaging agents
provides flexible, long-lasting contrast enhancement for a wide range
of microCT imaging applications including vascular and hepatobiliary
anatomy and function. With the Fenestra line of imaging
products,
you can easily achieve soft tissue or vascular contrast from a single
administration that facilitates anatomical delineation of numerous
structures. With Fenestra, you can see the physiologic response to a
therapeutic intervention or follow the natural etiology of a disease
process. More information about ART's imaging agents is available here.
Axela - Innovations in
Interactions
Introducing
a range of assay kits for tumour marker quantitation
Axela
Inc. has launched nine plate based tumour marker assays.
Available in high performance ELISA format, they have been designed for
stand alone use or to simplify the transition to automated dotLab
assays.
The RUO (Research Use Only) immunoassay kits for quantitative
determination of a number of cancer antigens (shown opposite) are
available immediately. Please contact us at info@touchdown-bioinnovation.com for further information and pricing details.
Available
to all researchers in ELISA kit format, these assays will
also extend the versatility of Axela's dotLab System by providing
validation tools to complement its ability to
perform interaction studies, expression monitoring and analysis of
cancer autoantibodies. Used
in conjunction with Axela’s panelPlus™
biomarker menu, this unique approach has the potential to significantly
transform the speed with which putative biomarkers can be validated.
 In
order to facilitate assay validation and simplify
multiplexing, the panelPlus
biomarker menu will incorporate the same
capture reagents as
these ELISA kits. The ability to observe multiple analytes in real-time
provides a wider detection range than previously
available. Offering
significant advantages over end point techniques, the dotLab
System allows creation of highly targeted and flexible biomarker panels
using these self addressing reagents. Scientists
will be able to select from the menu of analytes, and incorporate their
own proprietary reagents using the panelPlus Address Kit. Novel
discoveries can be compared directly to markers with known utility
without increasing sample volume requirements.
For
more information about Axela's dotLab System and its forthcoming
panelPlus biomarker menu, please visit www.axela.com or contact
us to arrange a demonstration in
your own lab.
NuGEN Technologies Inc
Revolutionizing
RNA Amplification and Labelling
 NuGEN’s proprietary
SPIA® technology is an elegant method for linear isothermal
amplification of nucleic acids. This simple, high-fidelity approach to
amplification enables global genomic analysis of virtually any sample
type, including limited and/or compromised biological samples,
overcoming the challenges of sample quality and quantity with a high
degree of sensitivity and accuracy. Because of the simplicity of the
assay, automation of the assay for increased throughput and
reproducibility can be implemented on various robotic platforms. NuGEN offers two solutions, depending on your sample input,
to support genomic analysis on your preferred analytical platform,
whether it’s Affymetrix, Agilent, or Illumina microarray
technology, or qPCR.
- Ovation®
RNA Amplification Systems - Various cell isolation and dissection
technologies have evolved to enable analysis of highly homogenous
biological samples. As a result, researchers have gained new
opportunities to work with samples comprised of low numbers of cells. A
variety of Ovation RNA Amplification Systems are offered from NuGEN to
support whole transcriptome amplification and analysis from:
- Fresh
frozen samples down to 5 ng total RNA
- FFPE
samples down to 50 ng total RNA
- Small or
degraded samples down to 500 pg total RNA
- Whole blood
- Direct
amplification from cell lysate from one or just a few cells or down to
10 pg total RNA (NEW)
- Applause™
RNA Amplification Systems (NEW)
– Provides a low-cost, simple, and easy solution for intact
RNA samples > 50 ng, tailored for routine laboratory use.
NuGEN's technology has been used extensively in the area of oncology
research, including applications in the area of non-small cell lung
cancer transcriptome analysis, breast cancer stromal and epithelial
cell analysis, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia genomic profiling. A
complete publication list is available on the NuGEN
website. NuGEN’s Ovation® and Applause™ Systems
family of products are designed for specific applications and work
together as modules to create complete workflows for gene expression
analysis. This modular approach makes it easy to choose the right
Ovation products for your application and platform. For more information about NuGEN Technologies' products and how they
may be able to asssist in your research, please visit www.nugeninc.com or email
us for further information.
Pressure
Biosciences
Discovery starts
with sample preparation
 Sample
processing is a signficant bottleneck in genomics and proteomics research when
dealing with tissues and cells. A novel technology
from Pressure
Biosciences (PBI) allows the safe, rapid and reproducible extraction of DNA, RNA,
small molecules and proteins from a wide variety of cells and tissues.By
cycing rapidly cycling pressure between ambient and ultra high levels
(up to 35,000 psi) at controlled temperatures, PBI's platform is able
to faciliate the lysis of tissue and cells. Using PBI's sample
preparation reagents, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids can by
extracted simutaneously without the need for detergents which can often
interfere with downstream analysis techniques.
By increasing protein recovery and providing improved reproducibility
compared to traditional lysis methods, PBI's technology can enhance
your chances of finding robust novel biomarkers from
difficult-to-process animal, plant, virus and bacterial samples. In the oncology research field, pressure cycling technology has been
used to extract proteins from colon cancer tissues, as well as
isolating proteins from breast cancer cells for subsequent
identification. A
range of publications and
application notes are available here. For
further information about pressure cycling technology and to discuss a
the possibility of running experiments in your own lab, please email
us or visit www.pressurebiosciences.com.
Thank
you for reading!
We hope that you found the products and services featured in our
Technology e-News useful. We will be focusing on another area of
biomedical research in the next edition, due to be sent in a few weeks
time. If you would like to suggest technologies or therapy
areas
to be included, or would like further information about TouchDown
BioInnovation, please email here.
All comments and suggestions are welcome!
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