The abstract adds that these culture conditions “potentiate spatial colocalization and three-dimensional assembly of individual cells into large aggregates which more closely resemble the in vivo tissue equivalent. In this environment, dissociated cells can assemble and differentiate into macroscopic tissue aggregates several millimeters in size.” The abstract also said that these culture conditions allow for better cellular differentiation and formation of three-dimensional cellular aggregates, more efficient cell-to-cell interactions, an in vivo-like exchange of growth factors, and greater molecular scaffolding that facilitates mechanical stability for cells. The suspension culture system offers a new approach for studying microbial infectivity from the perspective of the host-pathogen interaction and for analyzing chemosensitivity to toxins and chemotherapeutic agents, according to the abstract.
Surface Logix, Dyax Corporation, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Tulane Education Fund Awarded US Patents
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Surface Logix, of Brighton Mass., has been awarded US Patent 7,244,598, “Biomolecule arrays.”
The inventor listed on the patent is David Duffy.
According to its abstract, the patent discusses “array systems that facilitate the simultaneous monitoring of many interactions between biological molecules and the analysis of cellular protein interactions with high throughput.” The abstract also said that the invention provides methods and arrays for analyzing biochemical pathways by forming an array of immobilized biomolecules; exposing the array to biomolecules in solution; and detecting modification of the immobilized biomolecules, modification of the biomolecules in solution, and/or binding of biomolecules in solution to immobilized biomolecules.
Dyax Corporation, of Cambridge, Mass., has been awarded US Patent 7,244,592, “Ligand screening and discovery.”
The inventors listed on the patent are Henricus Hoogenboom, Jurgen Mullberg, and Robert Ladner.
The patent discloses a method to provide a plurality of initial nucleic acid cassettes that include: a) a first coding region encoding a first immunoglobulin variable domain, b) a second coding region encoding a second immunoglobulin variable domain, and c) a ribosomal binding site disposed between the first and second coding regions for translation of the second polypeptide in a first expression system, wherein the first and second coding regions are in the same translational orientation.
The invention also discusses a way to modify each nucleic acid cassette of the plurality in a single reaction mixture, so that it is functional in a second expression system, wherein the first and second region remain physically attached during the modification; introduce each modified nucleic acid cassette into a mammalian cell to produce a mixture of transfected cells; and express each modified nucleic acid cassette in the transfected cells.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the administrators of the Tulane Education Fund have been awarded US Patent 7,244,578, “Methods for modeling infectious disease and chemosensitivity in cultured cells and tissues.”
The inventors listed on the patent are Timothy Hammond and Cheryl Nickerson.
The abstract states that the patent provides methods for utilizing a form of optimized suspension culture to examine the infectivity of pathogenic organisms and agents in human cells and tissues. The patent also provides methods using a rotating wall vessel to predict chemosensitivity of cells and tissues to toxins and chemotherapeutic agents.