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Issue 4 2006
Issue 4 2006 / 20 July 2006 / Dr Yan Sun, MitoCheck Project Manager, Institute of Molecular Pathology
MitoCheck is a multi-national, multi-disciplinary research project on cell cycle control. It is funded by the European Union within its 6th framework program (FP6). Leading scientists from 11 research institutes, universities and industry in Austria, Germany, UK, Italy and France with a wide range of expertise in molecular and cell biology, biochemistry, modern microscopy techniques, proteomics, bio-informatics and clinical pathology have joined forces to take on the challenge of unraveling the mystery of cell division using RNAi.
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Tagged with: Functional genomics, Institute of Molecular Pathology, Yan Sun
Issue 4 2006 / 20 July 2006 / Sakari Kauppinen, Joacim Elmen and Phil Kearney, Santaris Pharma
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an abundant class of short endogenous RNAs that act as important post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression.
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Tagged with: Joacim Elmen, Phil Kearney, Sakari Kauppinen, Santaris Pharma
Issue 4 2006 / 20 July 2006 / Dr Anne Katrin Werenskiold, Project Manager, Interaction Proteome
The investigation of functional protein-protein interactions has been gaining momentum with recent technological innovations. The high-throughput era in genomics and proteomics research is essentially dependent on technological advancements to drastically increase capacities in both large-scale gathering of data; their interpretation and functional validation, as well as the compilation and storage of data in a standardised format. Contributions of the European Commission-funded ‘Interaction Proteome’, an integrated project in the field, are outlined in this article.
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Tagged with: Anne Katrin Werenskiold, Interaction Proteome, Proteomics
Issue 4 2006 / 20 July 2006 / Dr Lorenz M. Mayr, Executive Director & Head Biochemical Screening and Dr Hartmut Zehender, Labhead SpeedScreen, Biochemical Screening, Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research
Drug (lead) discovery relies on massive screening of chemical libraries against various extra- and intracellular molecular targets to find compounds with the desired mode of action. Sequencing of the human genome1 has generated a large number (>40 per cent) of new molecular targets with unknown function (‘orphan targets’), as well as a large number of molecular targets with known function albeit non-tractable by standard high-throughput screening (HTS) due to the particular requirements of plate-based assays in robotic screening systems (‘non-tractable targets’). Examples of the latter are targets with very fast kinetics, targets with multiple modes of function for the same polypeptide chain or targets where the substrate of a particular enzyme is not known.
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Tagged with: Hartmut Zehender, HTS (High Throughput Screening), Lorenz M. Mayr, Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research
Issue 4 2006 / 20 July 2006 / Dolores Diaz, CEREP and Peter J. O’Brien, Safety Sciences Europe, Pfizer Global R&D
The statins (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A [HMG-CoA] reductase inhibitors) are drugs that inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis by blocking the formation of the cholesterol precursor mevalonate. Statins are the most effective cholesterol-lowering agents available and are considered the first line of treatment for most patients with high serum cholesterol levels1.
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Tagged with: Dolores Diaz, HCS (High Content Screening), Peter J. O’Brien, Pfizer Global R&D
Issue 4 2006 / 20 July 2006 / Claire Townsend, Ph.D., Investigator, GlaxoSmithKline
As a classically trained electrophysiologist, I shall always remember my first encounter with automated patch clamp at Essen Instruments in June 2002. Essen Instruments had just developed the IonWorks HT, an instrument that can record currents from 48 cells simultaneously and perform up to 384 recordings with a drug addition step in a single 45-minute experiment1,2. This accomplishment coincided with the start of a revolution in the field of ion channel drug discovery.
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Tagged with: Claire Townsend, GlaxoSmithKline, Ion channel electrophysiology
Issue 4 2006 / 20 July 2006 / Jean-Marie Geoffroy, Ph.D., Director, Pharmaceutical Development, TAP Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
So far in 2006 we have published contributions on a variety of PAT-related topics, including training (Issue 1), NIR (Issue 2) and the role of PAT in biotechnology (Issue 3). In this article Jean-Marie Geoffroy reports on the business case for PAT with his own interpretation and charts the road ahead.
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Tagged with: Jean-Marie Geoffroy, PAT, TAP Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Issue 4 2006 / 20 July 2006 / Frank von Delft, Principle Investigator, Protein Crystallography Group, Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Oxford
The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) is an internationally funded collaboration with sites in three countries and a three-year goal of solving the 3-dimensional structures of more than 380 human proteins with particular medical relevance, and placing them in the public domain without restrictions. The structures should prove an invaluable resource for research into the proteins’ functions and their use as targets for therapeutic intervention; in this the SGC is a successor to the Human Genome Project (HGP). The SGC has benefited from adopting existing, commercialised robotics, and is subsequently working with vendors to adjust performance with its needs.
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Tagged with: Frank von Delft, Protein crystallography, University of Oxford
Issue 4 2006 / 20 July 2006 / Dr Jan Hauss, Laboratory Manager, Merck KGaA
Today, electronic support for scientific research from the bench to the product is reality. For many years there has been an organic growth of different electronic systems in various areas of industry. The current challenge is to combine these electronic islands to form solid ground for integrated cost efficient systems. In this short article I’d like to show how the analytical research LIM system at Merck KGaA is linked with the ELN of the medicinal chemical research.
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Tagged with: Dr Jan Hauss, ELNs, LIMS, Merck KGaA
Issue 4 2006 / 20 July 2006 / Tim Lloyd, Editor, European Pharmaceutical Review
Rapid microbiology is an exciting field for the development of new technologies and applications. There are significant challenges to be overcome and in doing so, great prospects for microbiologists and the companies that provide cutting-edge equipment.
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Tagged with: Microbiology
Issue 4 2006 / 20 July 2006 / Howard Smith, Technical and Commercial Manager, Cambridge Biostability
Ninety per cent of the world’s medical research funding is being spent on just ten per cent of the world’s health problems, mostly those afflicting the residents of wealthy countries.
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Tagged with: Cambridge Biostability, Howard Smith, Vaccine Technology
Issue 4 2006 / 20 July 2006 / Prof. P. A. Barnes, School of Applied Sciences, Prof. E. L. Charsley, Head of the Centre for Thermal Studies and Dr G. M. B. Parkes, Senior Lecturer in Analytical Science, University of Huddersfield
The determination of the key physical and chemical properties of a new material is essential. The melting point, glass transition temperature, the number and identification of the different phases it may have, and the temperatures at which they are formed are all of great value, not only in assessing its practical pharmaceutical potential but also as they can form the basis of many routine QC procedures.
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Tagged with: Dr G. M. B. Parkes, Prof. E. L. Charsley, Prof. P. A. Barnes, School of Applied Sciences, Thermal Analysis, University of Huddersfield
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