You Do Bio will be present at this year’s Dansk Selskab for Cancerforskning (Danish Society for Cancer Research) meeting, 3rd May 2019. If you’re attending the conference, there are tons of good reasons to talk to You Do Bio during the exhibition periods.
Don’t be shy. The exhibition is a great opportunity to connect and share information.
(Our pens are the best too).
This year I decided to think ahead and answer the question “what types of lab tools provided by You Do Bio are going to be of most interest to DSCF members and thus cancer researchers in general?” Here’s my list. :
1. Blood collection tubes for preservation of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA).
Analysing the genome of tumor cells using ctDNA can help researchers and clinicians assess tumor origin. Since the ctDNA reflects the tumor genome, it can aid in diagnosis and monitoring of progression of malignant disease.
What tools does YDB bring to the table?
Cell3™ Preserver tubes from Nonacus offer superior blood cell stability at over 14 days post blood draw, meaning less contamination of ctDNA from the DNA of white blood cells. Cell3™ Preserver tubes offer superior stability to the market leader.
Once you’ve got your ctDNA, you need to analyze it, which brings me to…
2. Targeted next generation sequencing panels, designed to optimize data quality from ctDNA samples.
Detecting cancer early or monitoring cancer post chemotherapy / surgery requires extremely sensitive analysis due to the low fraction of ctDNA content. Researchers need to be able to identify ultra-low frequency mutations, while filtering out false positives and sequencing artefacts.
What tools does YDB bring to the table?
Cell3™ Target targeted NGS kits incorporate error suppression technology including unique molecular indexes (UMI’s) and unique dual indexes (UDI’s) for removal of both PCR / sequencing errors and index hopping events. This allows confident and sensitive calling of mutations down to 0.1% VAF and from as little as 10ng ctDNA input.
3. Cell Viability Assays
Cancer researchers need to measure changes in cell viability, to determine cell health, genotoxicity, and evaluating anti-cancer therapeutics.
What tools does YDB bring to the table?
The XTT Cell Proliferation Assay Kit is an optimized, accurate and sensitive colorimetric assay that detects cellular metabolic activities. What we offer are high quality kits with academic pricing, available in sample sizes (for the grumpy, stick-in-the-mud skeptics).
Of course, if you are going to run cell viability assays in high-throughput, you are going to need some kind of microplate reader, which brings me to…
4. Multi-Functional (multi-mode) Microplate Readers
You’re thinking about getting a new microplate reader. What if you could get one with your minimum requirements (absorbance, fluorescence, luminescence), but including expansion options such as TR-FRET, HTRF®, BRET, dual luciferase reporter assays (with injectors), and even…western blot detection? Could you get all this, while obtaining a bargain at the same time?
What tools does YDB bring to the table?
In an exclusive partnership with Molecular Devices, You Do Bio is able to offer researchers in Denmark and Sweden special promotions on Molecular Devices instruments. Our latest offer provides a FREE* AquaMax Microplate Washer when you purchase a SpectraMax® iD5 Multi-Mode Microplate Reader.
5. DNA Collection using Saliva or Buccal Swabs
Buccal swabs and saliva are excellent ways to collect and preserve DNA from subjects in a painless, non-hazardous and econmic way. Samples can often be self-collected and this, together with transport at ambient temperature, means they are great for larger scale studies.
The salivary genome contains cancer biomarkers for systemic cancer, as well as those for cancers associated with head, neck and salivary glands.
What tools does YDB bring to the table?
Isohelix offers a comprehensive collection of DNA sampling products, including DNA Swabs, and DNA Saliva Collection devices. We provide DNA and RNA purification kits optimized for saliva and swab DNA, but purification of DNA is compatible with most commercially available kits.
6. High Throughput Assays for Natural Killer (NK) Cell Activity
Currently, NK cell activity is measured using either 51Cr-release assays or flow cytometry based assays revealing the cells´ cytotoxic capacity or by stimulating them to produce cytokines. Although very effective, these are cumbersome techniques not suitable for high volume clinical laboratories.
What tools does YDB bring to the table?
Actually, I thought I’d sneak this one in here. I’ve been approached by a company who has produced an NK cell activity measurement kit, based upon IFN-gamma release. The test works on blood from patients. This has been tested in one Danish laboratory and I’m interested to work with other labs who might want to try. Any takers?
7. Stool Sample Collection
For cancers related to the digestive system, stool-based tests for screening have proven to be particularly useful (e.g. in colorectal cancer).
What tools does YDB bring to the table?
The Stool Sample Collection & Stabilization Kit from Canvax Biotech is a convenient, versatile and easy-to-use kit ideal for collection, transportation and storage of Stool samples using a DNA stabilization buffer. We offer high quality kits with academic pricing, available in sample sizes
8. Site Directed Mutagenesis
A classic tool of molecular biology, site-directed mutagenesis, SDM allows the function and properties of a DNA sequence or a protein to be investigated in a rational approach. Furthermore, single amino-acid changes by site-directed mutagenesis in proteins can help understand the importance of post-translational modifications.
What tools does YDB bring to the table?
The PickMutant™ Site-directed Mutagenesis Kit from Canvax is an extremely easy-to-use, the kit allows creating single or multiple point mutations, deletions or insertions using a rapid and easy protocol.
We offer high quality kits with academic pricing, available in sample sizes .
To recap…
This article is a snapshot of some of the laboratory tools that are available from You Do Bio, with particular application to cancer research. Our role at You Do Bio is to provide information and support to researchers in life science, introducing you to new laboratory tools, or providing choice in well-established tools and techniques. You can reach out to us to find something that will make your life easier, save you money and open new possibilities in data quality and interpretation. Most importantly, we can help you reach the goals you have for your research projects.
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