Automation / robotics

By Dr Karin Bottcher High content screening (HCS) has played a significant role in infectious disease research and drug discovery to date and can be a strong tool in the age of COVID-19 and beyond. With a focus on viral diseases, this article will describe how HCS has been used by laboratories around the world […]

The COVID-19 antiviral race: we’re all in this together By Uduak Grace Thomas In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, international scientists from academia and industry have pooled their expertise and resources to identify candidate compounds that inhibit the activity of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease, in order to develop a clinically effective antiviral. The aptly named […]

By Richard Gray The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has highlighted the need for fast and efficient development and production of vaccines for a whole gamut of pathogens, old and new. Microfluidics technologies can be used to accelerate the vaccine development process in a number of ways, not least in the directed evolution of the strains […]

The CELL CULTURE innovations increasing drug discovery success By Helen Stewart-Miller and Abby George Volume 21 Issue 3 – Summer 2020 ‘Fail early, fail fast’ has been a mantra in the pharmaceutical industry for several years and directly impacts the overall strategy of many drug discovery and development programmes. Yet, despite the drive to fail […]

Unleashing High-Throughput Reaction Screening The Unchained way Sponsored by Unchained Labs A successful high-throughput approach to reaction screening requires rational and systematic exploration of a broad set of variables to achieve optimization expeditiously. There are many types of potential variables that can be screened. Even with the aid of high-throughput screening tools, chances are that […]

Phenotypic Drug Discovery With High Content Screening Sponsored by PerkinElmer Early drug discovery used to be conducted mainly in a target-agnostic fashion, focusing on qualitative readouts from a living system – cells, tissue, or organisms – and asking the question, did this entity affect the phenotype? Target Based or Phenotypic Screening? With the rise of […]

Meet Stunner: The One-Shot Protein Concentration and Sizing Combo Sponsored by Unchained Labs Stunner pulls double-duty so you don’t have to. It’s the one and only system that combines high-speed UV/Vis spectral analysis and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) for quantifying concentration and nailing down protein stability. Stunner measures highly concentrated samples in a snap, without […]

Collaborative Cancer Research UK-funded studies from University of Oxford researchers have uncovered a new mechanism by which cancer cells adapt to the stresses they encounter as they grow and respond to therapies. This mechanism involves cells releasing small vesicles, known as exosomes. These contain complex mixtures of proteins, RNAs and other molecules, which can re-programme […]

Image: Rodion Kutsaev SLAS2021 will now be a fully digital experience as well as a celebration of 10 years of laboratory automation, scientific education and innovation. The event will be free for SLAS Premier Members and students with registration opening in October. Advantages of SLAS2021 Digital: More members of your team can attend SLAS2021. Innovative research and ideas, […]

Image: Fusion Medical Automation Initially designed to target the published CDC and WHO consensus sequences, the AccuPlex SARS-CoV-2 Verification Panel and Reference Material Kit are available with full SARS-CoV-2 viral genome coverage. This expansion allows for compatibility with any SARS-CoV-2 assay target, while maintaining the safety features and performance monitoring advantages of AccuPlex technology. LGC’s […]