Sample Preparation & Processing
Streamlining immune sensing and signalling dynamics research with liquid handling tools
Immunologists in the Immune Sensing and Signaling Dynamics Group | ImmunoHUB at Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S) in Porto, Portugal, are using Integra Biosciences laboratory tools to help further our understanding of the human immune system. The research team is using the VACUSAFE safe aspiration system and PIPETBOY acu 2 pipet controller to enhance their investigations into the role of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in responding to bacterial infections and tumour growth, as well as to help identify promising targets for therapeutic intervention.
Pedro Moura Alves, group leader at the lab, commented: “Our research focuses on exploring the therapeutic potential of targeting the AhR in tumor responses and bacterial infections. Integra’s reliable and accurate tools have been instrumental in streamlining our work. The VACUSAFE allows us to easily regulate the speed of aspiration to ensure the gentle handling of cell cultures. Using this vacuum system, we can simultaneously aspirate liquid from eight wells, saving us time and effort. Similarly, the lightweight design of the PIPETBOY makes it easy to use, and provides better control of the liquid level during serological pipetting compared to other brands, enhancing accuracy and reproducibility across laboratory workfl ows.”
Pedro continued: “We are very satisfi ed with both the VACUSAFE and PIPETBOY, as these tools have not only improved our experimental workfl ows, but have also ensured the reliability and quality of our research outcomes. We are now eager to incorporate additional Integra equipment into our research, further aiding our studies on the AhR and its modulatory effects on the immune system to advance personalised medicine strategies. We believe that this approach holds promise for improving patient outcomes and positively impacting healthcare pathways, bridging the gap between fundamental immunology research and clinical applications.”
More information online:
ilmt.co/PL/ZbLY 62668pr@reply-direct.com
Shaker designed for CO2 incubators
Celshak is a small, stainless steel shaker specially designed for use in CO2 incubators. The stainless steel housing with a separate controller, makes it perfect for shaking cell cultures.
Wiggens presents three models of shaker for CO2 incubators with highest quality design utilising non-belt magnetic drive technology, which allows for high performance of water resistance. The gentle drive unit features exceptionally smooth start-up and braking behaviour, and has improved oxygen transfer and homogeneous availability of the nutrients in the culture medium. This ensures significantly better culture growth than in static cell cultures. With ultra-low power consumption, it prevents any additional heating inside the incubator.
The entire housing of shaker is made of stainless steel (SUS304), meeting the demand of GMP’s cleaning requirements and its corrosion resistant feature is ideal for using in CO2 incubators. It is easy to remove any unwanted liquids and can be cleaned with chemicals.
The thin wire cable connection between the shaker and the control box can pass through the sealing part of the inner glass door, if no access port is available within your incubator.
More information online:
ilmt.co/PL/L5K5 57407pr@reply-direct.com
Cell disruption of microorganisms with mixer mills
Cell disruption is frequently the method of choice to extract cellular components from bacteria, yeast, fungi, or microalgae and is carried out either chemically or mechanically. Mechanical methods are better suited for cells with tough walls, or if the chemicals might affect the extraction and therefore need to be avoided. A common and effective method is bead beating which uses beads to shear the cells in a suspension. Bead beating can be done on a small or large scale, using different types of vials and tubes. One way is to mix the suspension with beads and use a vortex mixer. However, this procedure is slow and inconsistent, especially with a large number of samples or long disruption times. A better way is to use Retsch Mixer Mills with adapters which automate the process, making it fast, efficient and reproducible.
The MM 400 processes up to 20 samples in 1.5 or 2 ml Eppendorf tubes without cross contamination which saves time for the operator. Additionally, an adapter is available to accommodate up to eight 50 ml Falcon tubes. The optimal bead size for cell disruption varies based on the cell type; for bacteria and yeast, glass beads ranging from 0.75 to 1.5 mm are recommended, while smaller beads within the range of 0.1 to 0.5 mm are more suitable for fungi and microalgae.
For DNA or RNA extraction, smaller single-use tubes up to 2 ml are ideal, whereas larger vials like the 50 ml Falcon tubes are well-suited for processing proteins or metabolites. The optimum bead beating parameters vary according to cell type. It may take some experimenting to find the best results. Usually, 30 s (most microalgae) to 7 min (yeasts in general) of bead beating are required to fully disrupt the cells.
More information online:
ilmt.co/PL/LoZA 62247pr@reply-direct.com
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