Time-Saving Benefits of Biochips Propels Their Demand in the U.S. Biochips Markets
PharmaLive.com (02/21/07)

Biochip technology sales rose to $582.7 million in 2005, and the devices could easily reach over $1 billion in sales in the next five years. Biochips speed up microarray processes, and hybridization among experiments with nucleic acids. Frost & Sullivan Analyst Jonathan Witonsky reports that biochip technologies help save laboratories time, decrease expenses over the long haul, and increase productivity. However, one drawback to the biochip market has been that laboratories are often unwilling to invest in yet another efficiency system or device because of previous investments in alternative laboratory automation systems, such as high-throughput screeners and expensive dispensers. On the other hand, experts point out that biochip manufacturers can offset current market trends and increase market share through advertising and education campaigns that tout the benefits of DNA microarrays, proteomics arrays, and other technologies. Experts note that these arrays require smaller sample sizes, have fewer long-term costs, and increase productivity, reproducibility, and efficiency.
Back to the top.

Applied Biosystems Introduces New DNA Technologies That Address Major Challenges Facing Forensic Scientists
Lab Business Week (03/11/07) P. 388

Applied Biosystems revealed today the first commercial kit for examining degraded DNA as well as two new software systems which will streamline and expedite the DNA analysis process. The MiniFiler kit will enable DNA analysts to extract more helpful information from both degraded and impurity-limited DNA. The HID EVOlution System is a mechanized DNA workstation with software capable of facilitating routine casework. The system incorporates data transfer and automatic liquid handling into forensic laboratories, thereby decreasing the amount of labor needed and the turnaround time for results. The VALID software application will also reduce labor by simplifying, standardizing, and supporting DNA validation studies. DNA analysis has become a major part of crime investigation, as DNA is often the "ultimate proof" of identity. DNA information can be used to identify missing persons, clear the wrongly accused, and solve crimes. DNA is also a great resource because it can be obtained almost everywhere. Forensic technology expert Kevin Lothridge reports that there are "great demands" on forensic labs, of which there are over 10,000 around the world. Leonard Klevan of Applied Biosystems says that with these new tools, "forensics laboratories worldwide will be better equipped to analyze complex and challenging DNA samples more quickly and may possibly solve more cases as a result."
Back to the top.

Genedata Releases ToxPedia for Systems Toxicology
Innovations Report (03/13/07) Freeman, Tobe

Genedata has introduced ToxPedia, a computational system designed to assist with systems toxicology and drug safety prediction. The ToxPedia system maximizes systems toxicology benefits by enabling scientists to integrate toxicogenomic data with conventional end points, which in turn allows the scientists to search for relevant molecular biomarkers. The biomarkers are then used to predict, before costly trials are begun, a compound's toxicity profile, thereby reducing the number of expensive failures during the last stages of drug development. From the sample gathering stage to the final reporting phases, ToxPedia maintains the automation and standardization of the systems toxicology workflow; it also ensures compliance with guidelines such as 21 CFR Part 11. The ToxPedia system uses strict integration with all significant technology platforms and advanced data assessment tools to reach data quality appraisal's highest standards.
Back to the top.

Server Configuration Tool From EdenTree Technologies Reduces Configuration Complexity, Consolidates Computers in Test Labs
Laboratory Network News (03/12/07)

The EdenTree Configuration Manager, a new application from EdenTree Technologies, helps to lower software test cycles via automated reconfiguration of computers employed in test lab settings. Using the tool, test engineers can rapidly automate the setup, archiving, and restoration of any UNIX, Windows, or Linux computer, and complex system environments can be easily managed and shared. "Configuration complexity is stealing away hundreds of hours of productive test lab time as lab engineers are stuck for days setting up for tests to support expanded product lines and support for multiple operating systems," notes Jay Oyakawa, president and CEO of EdenTree Technologies. He notes that the new Configuration Manager "pays for itself quickly in labs that are constantly upgrading/downgrading applications by recapturing this lost productivity and eliminating unnecessary test beds and devices under test."
Back to the top.

New Technology Removes Viruses From Drinking Water
SpaceDaily (02/28/07)

Researchers from the University of Delaware's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and College of Engineering found that E. coli, rotavirus, and other pathogens are eliminated from drinking water when elemental iron is used in the filtration process. Pei Chiu of UD's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering said 99.99 percent of the viruses are gone in just 20 minutes. Humic acid and other organic material are also removed. The technology could be used by the agricultural sector to ensure food safety. Among other applications, it could be used to eliminate pathogens in recirculating wash-water systems designed to clean "ready to eat" vegetables.
Back to the top.

Ensuring Reliable Production
Process and Control Today (03/06/07) Stanton, Caroline

While oil and gas industries and other sectors maintain redundant systems to avoid catastrophe, the food and drink sector has often viewed redundancy as an avoidable expenses. However, the globalization of the market has steered the industry's thinking in new directions as supermarkets and other retailers seek out multiple suppliers for goods in order to maintain their own operations. Not only should supplies keep flowing through the supply chain to retailers, but food and drink manufacturers also need to ensure that defective or tainted products do not reach the market. Tainted or defective products can cause serious liability issues for many companies, and even result in product recalls, reputational damage, and other damages. However, advanced automation and process control technologies can improve product tracking and analysis, as well as ensure that distribution is not slowed or interrupted. These technologies carefully adhere to the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point requirements for the sector, allowing critical control points to be carefully monitored. These PLC controlled monitors and devices need backup systems in place to ensure all correct data is collected and meets specific requirements, and with advancements and standardization in the sector, redundancy has become less costly.
Back to the top.

Fresh Crops Tainted by Suspicion
Sacramento Bee (CA) (02/19/07) Killars, Deb

Though foodborne illness are common, three E. coli outbreaks in quick succession during the fall and winter of 2006 created widespread concern and a strong push for heightened regulation of leafy greens. The tainted spinach was traced to Natural Selection Foods' bagged spinach. The company has since begun using a new pathogen test which provides results in 12 hours to 16 hours; the test is administered pre- and post- processing. To date, several positive results have caused whole lots to be discarded. Previously, the company had not tested its greens because the waiting period for test results, which with the old type of test took three to five days, ate into the greens' shelf life. Produce producer Fresh Express takes a different tack; it conducts random field testing before a week before harvest and then avoids fields with suspicious or positive results. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 76 million illnesses and 5,000 deaths are caused by foodborne diseases each year.
Back to the top.

The Challenges of Nanotechnology
Frederick News-Post (MD) (02/20/07) Stewart, Jon

The nascent field of nanotechnology is being applied to nearly all other fields, including electronics, biomedicine, and information technology. "The main theme [of nanotechnology] is that scientists are trying to control matter and replication devices on a scale smaller than a micrometer, which is a millionth of a meter," explains Hood College's George Dimitoglou, an assistant professor of computer science. The Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory at the National Cancer Institute at Frederick conducts research aimed at helping companies prepare for cancer-drug applications to the Food and Drug Administration. The lab attempts to determine the efficacy of nanoparticles, including how well they work. "The particles need to act as platforms for other drugs, sort of like swapping out a payload in the back of a truck," says the lab's director, Scott McNeil. We are attempting to validate nanoparticles as that truck." Nanotechnology helped revive the chances that Abraxane and Doxil will become cancer-treating drugs.
Back to the top.

Micropumps for High-Tech Pumping
Pump Magazine (02/15/07)

U.K.-based Michael Smith Engineers has unveiled the MZR series of micro annular gear pumps to deliver liquids in precise amounts. Low flow rates of 0.15 ml per minute to 300 ml per minute make them ideal for laboratory automation tasks. These MZR pumps have a more than 1 percent dosing accuracy rate using precision DC drives. With such options as fluidic seal modules, reducing gears, and explosion-proof motors, the pumps can also be used outside the research lab in production environments.
Back to the top.

Improving Productivity in Clinical and Forensics
Laboratorytalk (02/20/07)

Spark Holland and Waters will be co-marketing and promoting their integrated system for high-volume forensic laboratories. A single software suite controls the system, which is a combination of the powerful Waters mass spectrometers and the front-end automation of Symbiosis' online solid phase extraction. This integrated solution automates the preparation, separation, and detection of samples, as well as analysis and data reduction. These automated processes will enable laboratories to analyze samples more quickly, boost throughput, decrease costs, and, because of the reduced amount of manual handling, improve the quality of the data analysis.
Back to the top.

Soft Robot Project Gets Rolling
Discovery Channel (02/01/07) Staedter, Tracy

Biologists and engineers at Tufts University are working to create robots consisting of completely pliable parts. They envision "a robot that you could pick up and crumple into a ball in your hand, let it go, and watch it walk away," says co-director of the Biomimetic Technologies for Soft-bodied Robots project Barry Trimmer. Inspiration for the project comes from animals such as caterpillars and silkworms, whose lack of a skeletal structure allows a much greater range of motion than an animal with a skeletal structure. These animals require little neural power to execute such motions, so "the idea is to build a robotic control system that mimics the nervous system and muscle power of the caterpillar," Trimmer says. These robots could enter hazardous areas, help doctors explore inside a patient's body, or enter industrial pipelines. Trimmer is using genetic engineering and nanotechnology to make materials with toughness equal to spider silk. Clemson University professor Ian Walker says that several groups are working on similar projects, but that a lack of metal could mean a lack of strength. He says, "Other groups, including our own in developing 'trunk and tentacle' robots, have aimed at producing completely soft robots, but have had to settle for having at least some rigid parts. It will be interesting to see if they can get enough strength from the materials and components they plan to use."
Back to the top.

Good Vibrations
Nature (02/01/07) Vol. 445 , No. 7127 , P. 463

California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, researchers discovered that semiconductors are no longer the best way to detect changes in electrical conductivity or piezoresistance, which can be used to determine mass and motion in objects smaller than a wavelength of light. The researchers began using gold films in nanoscale vibration sensors, and they report that the device can detect changes of less than 10 to the negative-18th in grams. The report is published online in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
Back to the top.

NASA Technology to Help Increase Stem Cell Output
Financial Times (02/12/07) P. 5; Cookson, Clive

The medical world and NASA joined forces on February 12 to unveil NASA-developed technology for growing stem cells. To commercialize the technology, Regenetch will announce its licensing availability this week at San Diego's stem cell conference. The new CellXpansion system uses a slowly rotating bio-reactor to provide the three-dimensional space crucial for stem cell multiplication. The bio-reactor will simulate space's weightless environment, which space shuttle tests have proved to be advantageous for cell growth. Regenetech's first focus will be on extracting stem cells from blood, especially blood from newborn babies' umbilical cords, multiplying the cells, and using them to create, at first, the less controversial--and less versatile--adult stem cells. Current technologies need months to grow therapeutic doses of stem cells; Regenetch endeavors to create a dose of 50m stem cells within a week. The bio-reactor can also grow muscle tissue and cartilage. NASA, though no longer actively researching cell and tissue science, encourages the private sector to license its patents and to use its technology.
Back to the top.

Plant Extracts as Nontoxic Nanoparticle Coating for Nanomedicine Applications
Nanowerk.com (02/12/2007) Berger, Michael

There is significant interest in the use of gold nanoparticles for in vivo molecular imaging and therapeutic applications. Administering nanoparticles via intravenous or oral pathways has the potential to produce toxic side effects, acknowledges Dr. Kattesh V. Katti, professor of radiology and physics and director of the National Cancer Institute-funded University of Missouri Cancer Nanotechnology Platform. Thus, there is a need for more information about the near and long-term pharmacology and toxicology of nanoparticles that are being considered for medical use. "Most of the animal models being currently used in translational research have been standardized for use toward testing traditional pharmaceuticals," says Katti. "However, the kinetics and thermodynamics of nanoparticles under in vitro/in vivo conditions may not be similar to those of their macro counterparts," Katti continues. "Therefore, it remains to be seen whether commonly used animal models can provide meaningful pharmacokinetic information when subjected to interactions with nanoparticles in vivo.
Back to the top.

Cross-Industry News ©Copyright 2007 INFORMATION, INC.

Back to the top.