life sciences
25 Issue 3 2020
UV/VIS spectrophotometers designed for life sciences
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ettler Toledo’s UV5Nano and UV5Bio Excellence UV/VIS spectrophotometers optimise spectroscopic workflows in life science and biotechnology applications. FastTrack technology enables speedy and reliable measurements. The One Click touchscreen allows easy and convenient operation with shortcuts. LockPath technology prevents the sample from drying out and allows a wide concentration range to be measured. Dedicated micro-volume measurements The UV5Nano is a powerful, compact instrument and offers both cuvette and micro-volume measurements as a stand-
alone instrument, or with LabX software. Only a minimal amount of sample (1-2μL) is required for accurate and reproducible micro-volume measurements. Wide concentration ranges from 6ng/µL to 15 000ng/µL of dsDNA can be measured without further dilutions. Accurate cuvette measurements The UV5Bio is a dedicated instrument for standard cuvette measurements in life sciences. It includes a touchscreen and one-centimetre standard cuvette holder. The cuvette holders and CuvetteChanger are positioned in the easily accessible open sample area. Predefined bio-applications UV5Nano and UV5Bio spectrophotometers offer a wide range of predefined direct measurement applications and methods for life science, biotech and biopharma applications such as nucleic acid analysis and protein assays. MICROSEP (PTY) LTD Rudy Maliepaard Tel: (011) 553 2300 Fax: (011) 553 2400 rudy,maliepaard@microsep.co.za www.microsep.co.za
EIA and chemiluminescence analysers from Gold Standard Diagnostics
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old Standard Diagnostics offer fully automated, walk away open platform systems for ELISA or CLIA assay processing. Choose between either the one-plate Bolt analyser for up to 96 samples or the two-plate ThunderBolt analyser for a maximum of 192 samples. Both the Bolt and ThunderBolt analysers are compact in design and include user friendly, flexible software that is capable of programming a broad range of assay protocols. Both analysers accommodate convection incubation to 40°C; onboard shaking up to 900RPM; a single probe/ dual needle for dispensing and washing up to 300ul; aspiration volumes are from 1ul and the choice between either Absorbance or Absorbance/Fluorescence detection. The Absorbance Reader includes the 405, 450, 490, 550 and 630nm wavelength filters and the Fluorescence Reader can detect from 300 – 500nm. Both analysers support independent well tracking and timing.
The Bolt analyser can accommodate up to nine custom 23 – 35mm reagent positions, whereas the ThunderBolt can accommodate up to sixteen custom 23 – 35mm reagent positions. Test tube sizes accommodated are 12, 13 and 16mm up to a height of 100mm. Custom racks are also available for both analysers. The Bolt and ThunderBolt analysers require 60cm deep of laboratory bench space due to their space saving design and are an ideal addition to any laboratory. ANALYTICAL & DIAGNOSTIC PRODUCTS JHB: (011) 794-5959 Fax: (011) 794-5963 CT Tel/Fax: (021) 975-6390 support@adpsa.co.za www.adpsa.co.za
Can new inhalable formulations help overcome drug resistance?
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uberculosis (TB) is one of the top ten causes of death worldwide – and the emergence of antibiotic resistance is exacerbating the situation. New breathable powders that can deliver existing drugs directly to infected cells may offer hope for the future. In 2017, ten million people fell ill with TB and 1.6 million died from the disease. In the same year, there were an estimated 558 000 new cases of drug-resistant infections. New treatment strategies are urgently needed to improve this already drastic scenario. TB is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), which spreads through the air. If a person breathes in tiny aerosols containing the bacteria, these can penetrate deep inside their lungs. Immune cells called macrophages usually act as the body’s first line of defence by engulfing and destroying harmful pathogens. But instead, Mtb can infect, survive and multiply inside these cells – making the disease particularly challenging to treat. Treatment challenges People with TB are usually given a powerful combination of oral antibiotics over several months. But this provides an opportunity for drug-resistant strains to emerge, particularly as people often do not complete the full course of treatment. Combining antibiotics with other drugs known as efflux transporters can help shorten treatment, reducing the likelihood of drug resistance. These work by increasing the concentration of antibiotics within infected macrophages. However, they can cause serious side effects in other
parts of the body, hindering their usefulness. Over recent decades, researchers have been searching for ways to deliver treatments straight into the lungs. By targeting drugs directly to the infected macrophages, this could increase their effectiveness and reduce the likelihood of resistance. At the same time, other parts of the body would be protected from unwanted side effects. Inhalable formulations In a new study, published in Pharmaceutics, researchers were aiming to develop a new inhalable powder formulation that can target drugs to infected macrophages in the lungs.1 The researchers efficiently loaded sodium hyaluronate sub-micron particles with three drugs already used to treat TB – two antibiotics, rifampicin and isoniazid, and an efflux transporter known as verapamil. They then used spray drying to transform these into
highly breathable microparticles – and showed they can regenerate back to their original size upon contact with water and release the drugs in a slow, sustained manner. Finally, it was established that two different formulations, either with or without verapamil, showed antimicrobial activity. They both showed powerful bactericidal effects against antibiotic-susceptible Mtb – and importantly, they were also effective on drug-resistant strains. The researchers used ultrapure water generated from an ELGA Purelab Flex laboratory water purification system for their experiments, reducing the risk of introducing contaminants that might affect their results.
directly into the lungs for the treatment of Mtb infections, irrespective of their drug resistance profile. The main advantage of the encapsulated formulations is that they can reach, deposit and concentrate high drug doses within infected macrophages. It has the potential to cause fewer side effects, which is an important factor for long-term treatments. The next steps will involve optimising drug concentration to maximise the effectiveness of the formulation with the lowest possible toxicity profiles – followed by further validation and confirmation both in vitro and in vivo. Author: Dr Alison Halliday 1.Rossi, I. et al. Sodium Hyaluronate Nanocomposite
A promising new lung delivery platform These results demonstrate the promise of this new platform for the delivery of antibiotics
Respirable Microparticles to Tackle Antibiotic Resistance with Potential Application in Treatment of Mycobacterial Pulmonary Infections. Pharmaceutics 2019; 11, 203
ELGA LabWater has been working with scientists to guarantee pure and ultrapure water for their research and lab work for over 80 years. Laboratories around the world trust its water purification systems to assist their researchers to achieve accurate, reliable results. For any enquires, contact LABOTEC, the local agents for ELGA Labwater.
LABOTEC (PTY) LTD JHB: (011) 315 5434 CPT: (021) 531 7660 DBN: (031) 566 4870 Fax: (011) 315 5882 sales@labotec.co.za www.labotec.co.za
