Enantiomers are pairs of compounds that have the same chemical formula but different spatial structures (like your left and right hand, they are non-superimposable mirror images of each other). This i...
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Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) is a technique capable of identifying large numbers of proteins in complex biological samples. In the process, peptides are ionized and an initial survey scan (i.e., a...
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Ubiquitin (Ub) is a small protein composed of 76 amino acids and found throughout the cells of eukaryotic organisms. It folds into a compact globular structure, often as part of a complex of proteins....
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Fungi produce a variety of chemical compounds called secondary metabolites. These compounds display a broad range of activities, including fighting off other fungi and bacteria. They also are useful f...
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Disulfide bonds between cysteine residues are the most common crosslinking agents in proteins. Reducing these bonds is an ordinary procedure in biochemistry and biotechnology. The most commonly used r...
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Integral membrane proteins are crucial cellular components, helping to transfer material and signals through the cytoplasm or between different cell compartments. Analyzing the structures and function...
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‘Nanopore sequencing’ holds the potential for sequencing a single molecule of DNA without the need for conventional tools like chemical labels or costly optical instruments. This promising method ...
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Isolating analytes from complex biological samples is one of the most crucial steps in many areas of biological research and clinical diagnostics. Paramagnetic particles (PMPs) or beads are important ...
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The ability to chemically synthesize single-stranded oligonucleotides has had a profound impact on research and medicine. Yet existing strategies have their limitations. One critical limitation is the...
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Transfection is the process of introducing nucleic acids into cells. Two main strategies are viral (utilizing viruses as vectors) and non-viral. Non-viral methods are less efficient but attractive for...
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Membrane proteins play crucial roles in biology but are difficult to handle and analyze because of their physical properties. The structures of these proteins display extensive nonpolar surfaces, whic...
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Circadian rhythms refer to the 24-hour cycles of biological processes that promote daily functioning. The synchronization of an organism’s internal clock to external cues like light and darkness is ...
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Mass spectrometry (MS) is a vital tool for identifying and tallying the different proteins, peptides and other molecules in a sample. To determine relative abundance, reagent tags are used to label th...
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For diagnosis and research it often is necessary to isolate a subset of cells from a sample that contains bodily fluids, contaminants, tissue and other types of cells. For example, determining a pati...
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E. coli is the most common prokaryote used to produce protein.  The expressed protein generally accumulates in the cytoplasm.  While this approach is useful for some proteins, not all proteins can b...
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Ethanol obtained from the fermentation of grains and sugars is being blended with gasoline to bolster dwindling petroleum supplies. The alcohol increases combustion efficiency and octane value, and ca...
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Antibodies are used widely in biological and medical research to bind to and help isolate molecules of interest.  However, the reduced stability and production yields of antibody fragments frequently...
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How and why precursor cells differentiate into tissue-specific cell types involves a complex interplay of signals and remains a rich topic of investigation. Outside of the body, for example, certain s...
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Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging has demonstrated its ability to monitor interactions between biological moieties in real time without the aid of chemical labels such as fluorophores and radioi...
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Glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness in the United States, is an eye disease that results in optic nerve damage and loss of vision. However, few large-eyed models of spontaneous glaucoma ex...
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Tumor xenograft mouse models have been created by injecting human cancer cell lines into immune deficient mice. However, when the effects of various interventions on these models are assessed, the res...
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As resources shift from genome sequencing to understanding and characterizing expressed genes and protein function, reliable and rapid tools for the analysis of protein composition are increasingly vi...
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DNA synthesis is evolving from chip-based synthesis to a method where oligomers are synthesized and subsequently harvested so this genetic material can be used in a construction kit-type system. This ...
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Removal of virus is essential for the manufacture of safe biotechnology-derived products such as therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. Currently, virus is removed using ion exchange chromatographic resin...
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Removal of virus is essential for the manufacture of safe biotechnology-derived products such as therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. Currently, virus is removed using ion exchange chromatographic resin...
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