Biocompare
Mike Okimoto is a co-founder of CompareNetworks and is responsible for the development and implementation of both editorial and data content for the CN verticals. Since 1999 Mike has been closely involved with the evolution of the CN business model and has helped to develop the overall business strategy for the company. His early efforts were focused on the development of product taxonomies and new products to help CN customers reach their target audiences and marketing goals. In his current role, Mike is tasked with managing day to day operations including media fulfillment and deployment as well as customer reporting.
While the mandatory, across-the-board budget cuts known as “sequestration” have fallen off of the front page of the popular press, the effects of those cuts are still impacting the research community. According to figures released by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) the impact of budget sequestration will be $1.71 billion in 2013, a cut of about five percent of the total NIH budget. Funding to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) will be cut by about 5.8% which will mean not only fewer new grants but cuts to ongoing grants.
But research into cancer will continue. The challenge for scientists now is figuring out how to stretch those precious research dollars as far as possible while generating timely results. With that in mind, we have identified some solutions for cancer researchers that will help them generate results while saving time, money or both.
Custom antibodies for $200
Boster is not a household name in the US, but the company has been selling antibodies in Asia for close to 20 years. Their claims to fame are their validation process (testing each antibody against a panel of 250 cell lines and tissue samples/lysates) as well as cost competitiveness. Boster is currently promoting a deal on custom antibodies: Generate a custom antibody for $200 (for 200 ugs) and receive 20% off future purchases for life.
Visualizing mRNA in situ
Image Source: Biosearch Technologies
BioSearch is a custom oligonucleotide-synthesis company that has been around since the ‘80s. They now offer the Stellaris FISH Probes, which are sets of 20-mer labeled oligos that can be used to visualize mRNA in situ. These probe sets are comprised of 25-48 different fluorescently labeled oligos that are all specific to different regions of a given gene; thus the probes hybridize to different segments of the mRNA. This allows researchers to visualize mRNA production with basic fluorescence microscopy. And because there is no amplification involved, detection is quantitative. The Stellaris FISH Probes can be custom ordered with a wide variety of labels available.
Bringing label-free enzymology to everyone
Image Source: ForteBio
The BLitz personal assay system from forteBio is designed for label-free protein kinetic characterization and quantitation. forteBio says this system has distinct advantages over comparable applications (like HPLC, ELISA or surface plasmon resonance) based on throughput, performance and cost. The BLitz relies on forteBio’s Dip and Read assays and accompanying biosensors. The biosensors are available with a wide variety of immobilized chemistries – everything from Protein A to anti-human IgG to Ni-NTA, ensuring wide coverage of assay types. Once the assay product is bound to the biosensor, the BLitz reads the results using what forteBio calls BLI (bio-layer interferometry) technology. White light is transmitted down the biosensor and reflected light is collected and analyzed. This allows the BLitz to detect the number of molecules bound to the biosensor surface. All of this is done with only 4 ul of sample.
Image Source: ForteBio
Better transfection of breast cancer cell lines
Optimizing transfection conditions can be costly from both a time and reagent perspective. To address the latter, Mirus has created the TransIT –BrCa transfection reagent line. TransIT-BrCa has a unique chemistry specific to breast cancer cell lines and has been optimized for many commonly used breast cancer cell lines including: MCF-7, MDA-MB-468, MDA-MB-231, T47D and others. Mirus is currently offering free samples and a portion of every sale goes to breast cancer research.
Trying before buying
Prepping samples for Next-Gen Sequencing often means sonication. The AFA ultrasonicator from Covaris has been designed specifically to deliver high-quality sheared chromatin. The company’s patented technology relies on a precise operating frequency (500 kHz) and a defined 3-mm wavelength to yield optimal results. But to ensure that this system will work in all labs, Covaris is offering a free two-week trial period, enabling researchers to test the system out before spending anything.
C-DiGit Blot Scanner
Image Source: LI-COR
The C-DiGit Blot Scanner from LI-COR is billed as “Digital Film for Chemiluminescent Western Blots.” The scanner uses a CCD sensor array that is placed in very close proximity to the blot itself, maximizing light capture and allowing for very short exposures. The C-DiGit has a small footprint (11" L x 8.75" W x 2.875" H) and is competitively priced.
Fluidigm
Transcriptome Analysis on a Single Cell
The C1 Single-Cell Auto Prep System from Fluidigm is designed to extract, reverse transcribe, amplify, detect and analyze mRNA from a single cell. The workflow is touted as “plug and play”; cells are loaded into the device in a single pipetting step. The device then separates the cells into 96 individual chambers where their numbers are verified and a live/dead cell check is performed. The cells are then lysed, cDNA is generated and a pre-amplification step is performed. The pre-amplified products are then harvested and are ready for qPCR or Next-Gen Sequencing. All of this takes about 1 hour, saving significant time and, according to Fluidigm, money; the company claims the process costs just one-eighth that of traditional library preparation systems.