BIOTECHNOLOGY


NEW SERVICE TO SUPPORT LIFE SCIENTISTS DURING TRIALS


biologists and biochemists, Wel-Screen is a recently launched chemical analyses service that supports life scientists at critical points during their trials. As researchers themselves,


C


Wel-Screen’s scientists understand the importance of timely, reliable data to get drug discovery and development trials across the finishing line. Using real-world experience, they have


developed a range of specialist analytical services that provide critical details on the authenticity, composition, origin, identity, purity and safety of samples. These include differential scanning calorimetry, GC-MS, infrared spectroscopy, LC-MS, lyophilisation and NMR.


reated and driven by research-active chemists, molecular


The laboratories are ISO 17025: 2017-certified to ensure consistent quality and replicable results. “As research-active


Wel-Screen is also offering a range of


new consumer services, enabling individuals to learn more about the formulation, stability and efficacy of natural or chemical compounds. This includes Wel-V, which provides accurate information on the biological efficacy of a natural or chemical product against specific cancer cell lines. Wel-Screen operates two testing and analysis facilities in Greece and Switzerland.


scientists, we understand that laboratories may not always have access to the equipment, expertise or techniques needed to advance their clinical trials,” says Vasiliki Daikopoulou, senior chemist at Wel- Screen. “We have launched Wel-Screen to help meet


this need. Using our substantial practical experience, and utilising best-in-class equipment, we aim to become the trusted partner of scientists in the chemical, molecular biology and biochemistry sectors.”


For more information visit www.wel-screen.com


SCIENTISTS DEMONSTRATE PHAGE THERAPY TECHNIQUE A


team of French and Swiss scientists has demonstrated a lensless imaging technique that could


easily be implemented in cost-effective and compact devices in phage laboratories to accelerate phage-therapy diagnosis. First implemented in 1919, phage


therapy relies on a range of tests on agar media to determine the most active phage on a given bacterial target, or to isolate new lytic phages from an environmental sample.


However, these culture-based techniques must be interpreted through direct visual detection of plaques. In a recent research article, the team


reported a lensless technique for testing the susceptibility of the bacterium to the phage on agar and measuring infectious titer, among other results. In addition to CEA-Leti, the team included a Grenoble consortium of researchers from CEA-Interdisciplinary Research Institute of Grenoble (CEA-Irig), the French National Centre for Scientific Research- Laboratoire des Technologies de la Microélectronique (CNRS-LTM), and the phage- therapy team from Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland, better known as CHUV in French. In addition to


investigating computer- assisted methods to ease and accelerate diagnosis in phage therapy, the team studied


phage plaque using a custom-designed, wide-field lensless imaging device, which allows continuous monitoring over a very- large-area sensor (8.64cm2


). “We report bacterial susceptibility to anti-


Staphylococcus aureus phage in three hours and estimation of infectious titer in eight hours and 20 minutes,” the paper explains. “These are much shorter time-to-results than the 12-to-24 hours traditionally needed, since naked eye observation and counting of phage plaques is still the most widely used technique for susceptibility testing. Moreover, the continuous monitoring of the samples enables the study of plaque-growth kinetics, which enables a deeper understanding of the interaction between phage and bacteria.” With 4.3 μm resolution in the lensless


demonstrator, the scientists also detected phage-resistant bacterial microcolonies of Klebsiella pneumoniae inside the boundaries of phage plaques.


For more information visit www.leti-cea.com


www.scientistlive.com 37


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60