Year: 2011

Cell membranes play critical roles as gatekeepers of the cell, their selective permeability shielding the intracellular components from the extracellular environment. Involved in functions such as cell signaling, ion conductivity, and cell adhesion, these biological membranes have evolved since the beginning of time. But will they continue to evolve? Will new proteins be introduced into the membrane to… Read More »

With a multitude of successful trials of gene therapies and DNA vaccines achieved, the next challenge is developing them into commercial products, requiring large quantities of purified plasmids. The current favored method for purifying DNA plasmids is ion-exchange chromatography. Unfortunately, these membranes restrict the amount of plasmid binding due to small pore size and other… Read More »

Single-cell genetic manipulation is expected to substantially advance the field of systems neuroscience. This study examined the feasibility of combining in vivo whole-cell recording and gene delivery by answering four specific questions: Do cells survive for a substantial period after whole-cell recording in vivo? What is the likelihood and longevity of whole-cell recordings with internal… Read More »

A breakthrough in DNA plasmid delivery technology has been achieved. Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. developed a new generation DNA vaccine delivery technology that uses contactless, non-invasive electroporation to administer DNA-based therapeutics and vaccines for patients of all ages. Learn how employing piezoelectricity in this new technology has lowered the cost, portability, and ease-of-use of the device:… Read More »

The Clinic Hospital’s objective to minimize the amount of antiretroviral drugs needed by patients due to their high expense is crucial when dealing with such long-term treatments. Thankfully, similar objectives have become wide-spread within the pharmaceutical industry over the past few decades, ultimately lessening the economic burden and allowing access to a larger patient population…. Read More »

The Waisman Clinical BioManufacturing Facility knows how important it is to maintain strict cleanroom cleanliness and sterility because, if contaminated with microorganisms, the products the WCBF manufactures could adversely harm patients. The Clean-Don technology from Kimberly-Clark Professional is their new approach to sterile gowning. Learn how this new product shortens gowning time while decreasing the… Read More »

The new CellBase CT system, which was developed in collaboration with leading cell therapy experts, can be used in a GMP facility for rapid scale up of existing manual cell culture processes in T-flasks. CellBase CT provides researchers with a fully-contained, aseptic cell expansion area where the risk of external contamination or internal cross-contamination has… Read More »

This study evaluated prophylactic and therapeutic effects of the IL-13Rα2 cDNA vaccination in syngeneic animal models of melanoma, sarcoma and breast cancer cells expressing IL-13Rα2 to prime the immune system. CTL activity and IFN-γ release was measured in mice vaccinated with prophylactic IL-13Rα2 DNA and boosted with ECDα2, resulting in higher measurements than DNA alone. Therapeutic IL-13Rα2… Read More »

This study confirms that enhanced cellular immune responses result in mice via chimaeric Gag VLPs incorporating GagRT and GagTN as vaccine boost candidates to a pVRCgrttnC DNA priming vaccine for HIV-1. The DNA prime/mixed VLP boost vaccination increased the cumulative Gag- and RT-specific IFN-γ responses relative to two DNA vaccinations 4-fold, and Gag- and RT-specific… Read More »

A plasmid is extra chromosomal DNA that is not incorporated in the main helix of genomic DNA. Plasmids occur in nature and can be found everywhere – in plants, insects, and bacteria. Scientists have discovered various applications for plasmids including gene therapy and DNA vaccines. These applications deliver the plasmid to a specific target in… Read More »

Baylor College of Medicine, in conjunction with The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, has developed a way to use minivector DNAs in gene therapy. These reduced sized DNA vectors (as small as 300bp) have high gene silencing capabilities and high serum survival lengths with low replenishment requirements. In addition, the study shows that DNA minivectors have… Read More »