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22 ANALYTICAL AND LABORATORY EQUIPMENT


HYDROGELS: taking the fight to cancer


Dan Goodman reports on the successful use of hydrogels in drug delivery systems


C


ancer is the number one cause of premature death in the UK. A study


recently conducted by Ahmad et al. (2015) found that, “Over half of people who are currently adults under the age of 65 years will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lifetime.” You only have to read the headlines to find new scientific advances being made every week, each one aiming to either promote earlier diagnosis or develop a new method of treatment. With some of the most exciting recent developments being made in controlled-release drug delivery systems, hydrogels have been


receiving growing attention in recent years; lower toxicity and fewer side effects making them an ideal candidate. According to Cassano et al. (2016), previously common


Taking the legwork out of sample preparation


T


he Ther-Mix system is designed to


remove multiple steps and variables from sample preparation. Once a user’s program is saved, they simply need to attach the Heated Module for their consumable, press play and wait for the beep to tell them that the program has finished. Ther-Mix boasts a


temperature accuracy www.scientistlive.com


+/-0.1c. It is fully programmable, with the ability to create and store up to 100 mixing programs. It also features a visual countdown timer and audible alert on completion of mixing program


as well as an easy to use touchscreen user interface. Application examples include: ELISA; sample prep for PCR; DNA isolation; and sample incubation.


methods of administrating drugs have been shown to be both ineffective and unreliable, especially those taken orally. Avoiding complications such as cost-effectiveness, side-effects and ‘cooling off’ periods are essential to the further advancement of numerous areas within the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry.


The role of hydrogels Utilising hydrogels as drug delivery systems within anti- cancer treatments has not only proven to deliver the necessary dosage directly to the tumour, but also reduce side effects by minimising the number of healthy cells affected. Te use of hydrogels within these treatments is fast reducing the number of barriers between where we are now, and a world in which cancer can be treated quickly and effectively. Although there is no one


universal method of synthesising


Any equipment used in this application must be able to produce highly acucrate results, making the Ther-Mix an ideal solution


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