Articles

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc., located in Richmond, California, is developing HIV therapeutics toward a functional cure using their proprietary zinc finger DNA-binding protein technology. Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR™) — or third generation PCR — offers a superior solution as it can detect target sequence within a single molecule, making it a powerful technology for low copy event detection.

The updated Image Lab image acquisition and analysis software provides improved tools for total protein normalization using the stain-free technology.

Detecting dilute protein samples using standard protein gel stains can be problematic. One method of enabling increased sample capacity on gels is to increase the well size. The newly introduced 4x Laemmli sample buffer improves sample loading capacity, improving the detection of low-abundance proteins.

Analyzing antibody binding to histidine-tagged proteins is not always easy because of inherent problems such as nonspecific binding and loss of analyte response associated with these tagged proteins. Optimization of these factors is key to precisely measuring the binding kinetics of these proteins.

Although the Western blot is a core lab procedure, surprisingly little has changed in traditional bench work practice since its inception in 1979. The V3 Western Workflow delivers a streamlined solution to the conventional western blotting workflow as explored here by one protein researcher specializing in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Many instruments offer multiplexing capability for biomarker measurements. But to handle and make sense of the huge amount of multiplex data requires sophisticated software like Bio-Plex Data Pro, which simplifies organization, import, sorting and visualization of data, and performing calculations and statistical analyses.

The T-helper cell (Th17) pathway has been implicated in several autoimmune diseases and in cancer. New magnetic bead–based assays have been developed for several biomarkers in this pathway. The performance characteristics of these assays are evaluated from data on intra- and inter-assay precision, standard curve recovery, cross reactivity, and linearity of dilution.

The significant drop in leprosy worldwide is attributed to the development of antimicrobial multidrug therapy (MDT). Resistance to rifampicin — the backbone of MDT treatment — has appeared. Controlling leprosy transmission requires routine surveillance for mutations in the drug target genes before, during, and after the course of treatment. New high resolution melt (HRM) assays offer leprosy researchers a faster, more economical method to investigate resistance targets.

Practicing source reduction — simply creating less waste — helps industries decrease raw material use. Despite improvements in global recycling since the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, the amount of generated waste has increased substantially. Bio-Rad recognizes that source reduction is essential for conserving natural resources. Highlighted here are several source reduction projects from the Bio-Rad campus in recognition of Earth Day 2012 that complement our mission to provide high-quality products to advance scientific discovery globally.

Droplet digital PCR is considered the third generation of PCR technology. This technology enables the quantification of absolute measure of target DNA molecules, rather than the relative measure obtained from real-time PCR. Absolute quantification is advantageous in several applications, such as measuring copy number variation, detecting rare sequences and mutations, and analyzing gene expression.