Articles

Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, trends point to a transition for the SARS-CoV-2 virus into an endemic agent. As major surveillance infrastructure scales back, it will be critical to maintain a cost-effective, simple, and rapid strategy for detecting and monitoring the spread of new variants. The key to such a strategy? Wastewater, where all disease agents leave their unique signature.

For this article, we spoke with Vera Dreyfuss of evitria AG, an antibody expression services provider based in Switzerland, about the role that the NGC Chromatography System has played in powering the growth and success of the company.

Wastewater-based epidemiology indirectly monitors infection rates in a community based on pathogen levels in local wastewater. Because symptomatic and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals shed viral RNA in sewer systems, analysis of SARS-CoV-2 in sewage networks can provide information about SARS-CoV-2 infections within the community. However, the accuracy of these data depends on the quality of the wastewater testing method. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Droplet Digital PCR has proven that it has the sensitivity needed to detect outbreaks and monitor SARS-CoV-2 variants in communities via wastewater testing.

Most scientists, no matter where they are at in their career, remember the moments of wonder as they navigated lab work for the first time. Whether it’s a band on a gel, a colony on a plate, or a piece of data, those first tangible results come with a feeling of having accomplished something incredible. More than ten years later, we caught up with two scientists who immortalized that feeling in the form of matching protein ladder tattoos, and discussed how their time as undergraduate researchers led them where they are today.

Bispecific antibodies (bsAbs) are an important addition to the immuno-oncology toolbox. Designed to recognize two distinct epitopes, bsAbs have enhanced binding, specificity, and efficacy compared to current monovalent antibody therapeutics, making them exciting candidates for more targeted cancer treatments. Learn about bsAbs and how our tools can help scientists with their research on therapeutic candidates.

The CAR T-cell manufacturing process involves high potential for variability. Learn how sensitive ddPCR assays can be used to ensure safety and efficacy.

In the day-to-day pressures of a research environment, it is natural to want to generate important data as quickly as possible. However, there are real benefits in ensuring that the antibody you have picked is the best for your experiment and spending time aliquoting and titrating your antibodies. Bio-Rad recently launched a free Antibody Advice Guide to equip scientists with the knowledge to get the best out of their experiments with antibodies. Read on for five examples of valuable information that you will learn from the guide, helping you generate publication-ready data.

Although vaccines have helped alleviate the negative impact of COVID-19, its persistence across many areas of the globe reveals a continuous need for rapid, accurate, and economical COVID-19 testing. But is it even possible to isolate and detect viral RNA rapidly and economically? Here we highlight a repurposed tool for improved COVID-19 detection: Chelex 100 Resin and the related InstaGene Matrix for rapid, cost-effective viral RNA preservation and detection.

Process development scientists, faced with an increasing number of proteins or complex biomolecules, continuously search for robust purification methods that can be rapidly scaled for manufacturing. What are the optimal purification conditions for high throughput and yield? Which resin or resin combination best purifies the desired protein? How can an efficient, yet cost-effective process be established? The answer: use a systematic screening approach. Read on to learn more.

With COVID-19 vaccines now widely available, case numbers in many areas are falling. But the question remains: How long does vaccine-induced immunity last? Measuring isotype-specific antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and the effectiveness of neutralizing antibodies against variants can help us better understand the duration and breadth of the humoral response. These data are critical to aid public health researchers and inform development decisions for vaccines and therapeutics. Read about the new Bio-Plex Pro Human SARS-CoV-2 Variant Neutralization Antibody 11-Plex Panel.