Trends in biotechnology

Biomedical applications of distally controlled magnetic nanoparticles.

Publication Date: 2009 Jun 27 PMID: 19564057
Authors: Corchero, J. L. - Villaverde, A.
Journal: Trends Biotechnol

Nano-sized magnetic particles are increasingly being used across a wide spectrum of biomedical fields. Upon functionalization to enable specific binding, magnetic particles and their targets can be conveniently positioned in vitro and in vivo by the distal application of magnetic fields. Furthermore, such particles can be magnetically heated after reaching their in vivo targets, thus inducing localized cell death that has a considerable therapeutic value in, for instance, cancer therapy. In this context, innovative biomedical research has produced novel applications that have exciting clinical potential. Such applications include magnetically enhanced transfection, magnetically assisted gene therapy, magnetically induced hyperthermia and magnetic-force-based tissue engineering, and the principles and utilities of these applications will be discussed here.

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Blood cell manufacture: current methods and future challenges.

Publication Date: 2009 Jul PMID: 19500866
Authors: Timmins, N. E. - Nielsen, L. K.
Journal: Trends Biotechnol

Blood transfusion depends on availability of donor material, and concerns over supply and safety have spurred development of methods to manufacture blood from stem cells. Current methods could theoretically yield therapeutic doses of red blood cells (RBCs) and platelets. However, due to the very large number of cells required to have any impact on supply (currently 10(19) RBC/year in the US), realization of routine manufacture faces significant challenges. Current yields are orders of magnitude too low for production of meaningful quantities, and the physical scale of the problem is a challenge in itself. We discuss these challenges in relation to current methods and how it might be possible to realize limited 'blood pharming' of neutrophils in the near future.

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Production of self-assembling biomaterials for tissue engineering.

Publication Date: 2009 Jul PMID: 19497631
Authors: Kyle, S. - Aggeli, A. - Ingham, E. - McPherson, M. J.
Journal: Trends Biotechnol

Self-assembling peptide-based biomaterials are being developed for use as 3D tissue engineering scaffolds and for therapeutic drug-release applications. Chemical synthesis provides custom-made peptides in small quantities, but production approaches based upon transgenic organisms might be more cost-effective for large-scale peptide production. Long lead times for developing appropriate animal clones or plant lines and potential negative public opinion are obstacles to these routes. Microbes, particularly safe organisms used in the food industry, offer a more rapid route to the large-scale production of recombinant self-assembling biomaterials. In this review, recent advances and challenges in the recombinant production of collagen, elastin and de novo designed self-assembling peptides are discussed.

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Biotechnology under high pressure: applications and implications.

Publication Date: 2009 Jul PMID: 19497630
Authors: Aertsen, A. - Meersman, F. - Hendrickx, M. E. - Vogel, R. F. - Michiels, C. W.
Journal: Trends Biotechnol

Pressure is a thermodynamic parameter whose unique effects on biological systems are increasingly being studied in a growing number of scientific fields. As such, the effects of high pressure are currently being investigated at different levels, ranging from proteins, enzymes and viruses to microorganisms, mammalian cells and tissues. Together with the steadily growing knowledge and understanding of high pressure effects on these increasingly complex systems, the purposeful use of high pressure has found several unique applications in bioscience over the past few years, including the disaggregation of proteins, the preparation of viral vaccines and the modulation of food functionality. In this review, recent and emerging applications of high pressure in biotechnology are presented and discussed.

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Mitigating release of the potent greenhouse gas N(2)O from the nitrogen cycle - could enzymic regulation hold the key?

Publication Date: 2009 Jul PMID: 19497629
Authors: Richardson, D. - Felgate, H. - Watmough, N. - Thomson, A. - Baggs, E.
Journal: Trends Biotechnol

When faced with a shortage of oxygen, many bacterial species use nitrate to support respiration via the process of denitrification. This takes place extensively in nitrogen-rich soils and generates the gaseous products nitric oxide (NO), nitrous oxide (N(2)O) and dinitrogen (N(2)). The denitrifying bacteria protect themselves from the endogenous cytotoxic NO produced by converting it to N(2)O, which can be released into the atmosphere. However, N(2)O is a potent greenhouse gas and hence the activity of the enzyme that breaks down N(2)O has a crucial role in restricting its atmospheric levels. Here, we review the current understanding of the process by which N(2)O is produced and destroyed and discuss the potential for feeding this into new approaches for combating N(2)O release.

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Thermophilic ethanologenesis: future prospects for second-generation bioethanol production.

Publication Date: 2009 Jul PMID: 19481826
Authors: Taylor, M. P. - Eley, K. L. - Martin, S. - Tuffin, M. I. - Burton, S. G. - Cowan, D. A.
Journal: Trends Biotechnol

Strategies for improving fermentative ethanol production have focused almost exclusively on the development of processes based on the utilization of the carbohydrate fraction of lignocellulosic material. These so-called 'second-generation' technologies require metabolically engineered production strains that possess a high degree of catabolic versatility and are homoethanologenic. It has been suggested that the production of ethanol at higher temperatures would facilitate process design, and as a result the engineered progeny of Geobacillus thermoglucosidasius, Thermoanerobacterium saccharolyticum and Thermoanerobacter mathranii now form the platform technology of several new biotechnology companies. This review highlights the milestones in the development of these production strains, with particular focus on the development of reliable methods for cell competency, gene deletion or upregulation.

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Best practices for hybridization design in two-colour microarray analysis.

Publication Date: 2009 Jul PMID: 19481825
Authors: Knapen, D. - Vergauwen, L. - Laukens, K. - Blust, R.
Journal: Trends Biotechnol

Two-colour microarrays are a popular platform of choice in gene expression studies. Because two different samples are hybridized on a single microarray, and several microarrays are usually needed in a given experiment, there are many possible ways to combine samples on different microarrays. The actual combination employed is commonly referred to as the 'hybridization design'. Different types of hybridization designs have been developed, all aimed at optimizing the experimental setup for the detection of differentially expressed genes while coping with technical noise. Here, we first provide an overview of the different classes of hybridization designs, discussing their advantages and limitations, and then we illustrate the current trends in the use of different hybridization design types in contemporary research.

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Regulatory aspects of biosimilars in Europe.

Publication Date: 2009 Jul PMID: 19467723
Authors: Zuniga, L. - Calvo, B.
Journal: Trends Biotechnol

In early 2004, the patent protection for several first-generation biopharmaceuticals began to expire, opening the door to the so-called 'biosimilars'. The knowledge on biosimilars is steadily growing, and keeping up with state-of-the-art technologies and methods for protein characterization is compelling not only for manufacturers but also for the authorities. The challenges now are to review current marketing approval procedures and to develop standardised methods for evaluating the quality, safety and efficacy of these products.

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