Questions submitted to AIMday

expression system for HRP-fusion proteins

we're looking for expression system suitable for production of active HRP-fusion proteins that could not be produced in E.Coli.

What is the current level of understanding of the effect of gas composition on in vitro biological processes such as cell division and tissue engineering?

Cascade Technologies is a designer, developer and manufacturer of proprietary gas analysers and gas emission monitoring systems that can measure multiple gases simultaneously in real-time to the ppb level. The technology is based on a principle called Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS), which measures the concentration of species in gaseous mixtures using tunable diode lasers and laser absorption spectrometry. The use of lasers as spectroscopic light sources allows for high resolution spectroscopy (HRS), with QCLs offering access to the valuable mid infrared (MIR) part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
http://www.cascade-technologies.com/

How do we determine dermal metabolism in vitro?

There are a number of insdustry initiatives planning to assess dermal metabolism of drugs, chemicals, cosmetics and agrochemicals including Skin Forum under its Skin Metabolism subgroup (www.skin-forum.eu) and Cosmetics Europe.

Dermal metabolism is difficult to predict as measuring it is difficult due to low rates of turnover compared to hepatic. Dermal metabolism has been implicated in a no of diseases including skin sensitization. Industry also want to generate prodrugs which are good penetrants, but release the drug into the skin. Industry also wants to use drugs that have poor oral bioavailability but could be delivered topically, but need to confirm that the drug is not metabolised during absorption. Many pesticides are also antcipated to be metabolised in the skin.

The problems include:

(a) low levels of enzymes which need to be quantified
(b) different isoenzymes to the liver
(c) difficulty in measuring enzymes
(d) difficulty in meauring metabolites.

There are many different potential methods including the use of
(a) ex vivo skin
(b) keratinocytes/ isolated cells and
(c) 3D models.

None have been formally validated and they are unliekly to be either. An approach to utilise and acceptance test these methods are needed.

We are looking for an in silico model to predict dermal metabolism

Dermal metabolism is difficult to predict as measuring it is difficult due to low rates of turnover compared to hepatic. Dermal metabolism has been implicated in a no of diseases including skin sensitization. Industry also want to generate prodrugs which are good penetrants, but release the drug into the skin. Industry also wants to use drugs that have poor oral bioavailability but could be delivered topically, but need to confirm that the drug is not metabolised during absorption. Many pesticides are also antcipated to be metabolised in the skin.

An in silico prediction for this endpoint would be of interest to industry.

Other than cephalopods, how can biological organisms inspire new methods for adaptive camouflage? Areas of interest would be changing colour, texture and temperature (the latter to control infra red signature).

Other than cephalopods, how can biological organisms inspire new methods for adaptive camouflage? Areas of interest would be changing colour, texture and temperature (the latter to control infra red signature).

How can microbial fuel cells and other biological power sources compete with traditional fuel cells, batteries and energy harvesting technologies? What are the key advances required and the key niches where microbial power sources can have an impact?

How can microbial fuel cells and other biological power sources compete with traditional fuel cells, batteries and energy harvesting technologies? What are the key advances required and the key niches where microbial power sources can have an impact?

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Where is the value in spent yeast and how can we make the most of it?

Breweries are yeast factories and this yeast is currently sold to marmite or farmers. There is surely a higher value stream that could be tapped into.

In what ways will the BioTech sector present challenges and/or opportunities to the water and wastewater sectors - what/how/where/when?

Biotechnology is a growing sector in Scotland, which is backed by the Scottish Government. It is widely believed that Scotland has the building blocks required to grow a successful bio economy thereby bringing new market development, sustainability via reduced emissions and water savings and innovations through new products and processes. The National Plan for Industrial Biotechnology alone aims to have a turnover of £900m by 2025 and already, Scotland’s biotechnology industry is growing by 30% per annum (more than double the rest of Europe).

How can we shift through masses of structured and unstructured clinical data representing an individual's medical history to find information of relevance?

With increasingly large amounts of data being availlable for every individual it is becoming crucial, and critical, to be presented with the right information, at the right time and not be distracted

How can we encode clinical pathways and best practice, so that we can identify decision points for patient care and understand the evidence needed to support those decisions?

With increasing emphasis on health outcomes it is essential to ensure best practice at all times and provide state of the art decision support

Could brewers' yeast produce, or be manipulated to produce, antimicrobial substances with relevance to human medicine?

There are many yeast strains used globally for beer fermentation, most of which fall within one or two species of Saccharomyces. None however are naturally occurring in nature, having been adapted over 100's of years within the oldest biotechnology exploited by man. Could this be a new place to look for potentially naturally occurring antibiotics which are so badly needed to combat growing resistance among certain groups of pathogens? In the 1980's there was scientific interest in what became known as 'killer yeasts' which were thought to secrete something that prevented growth of other yeasts.

Where is the value in spent yeast and how can we make the most of it?

Breweries are yeast factories and this yeast is currently sold to marmite or farmers. There is surely a higher value stream that could be tapped into.