SAGE Life & Biomedical Sciences

Volume 26 Issue 1, February 2021 Dave Pechter discusses the February SLAS Technology Special Collection AI in Process Automation with Guest Editor Cenk Undey (Amgen), which includes the following papers: Artificial Intelligence Effecting a Paradigm Shift in Drug Development by Masturah Bte Mohd Abdul Rashid Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the Rescue: Deploying Machine Learning to Bridge the Biorelevance Gap in Antioxidant Assaysby Sunday Olakunle Idowu and Amos Akintayo Fatokun Deep Learning and Computer Vision Strategies for Automated Gene Editing with a Single-Cell Electroporation Platform by Cesar Patino, Prithvijit Mukherjee, Vincent Lemaitre, et al.

SLAS Discovery 25.10 December 2020 Rob Howes discusses with Meredith Davis-Gardner and Michael Farzan the December Special Issue, Drug Discovery Targeting COVID-19, and specifically their article, High-Throughput Screening for Drugs That Inhibit Papain-Like Protease in SARS-CoV-2.

Volume 25 Issue 5, June 2020 Dave Pechter discusses with Varun Bhaskar Kothamachu, Ph.D. (Head of Product, Digi.Bio) & Sabrina Zaini (Head of Operations, Digi.Bio) their featured research article, "Role of Digital Microfluidics in Enabling Access to Laboratory Automation and Making Biology Programmable."

SLAS Technology 25.4 August 2020 Dave Pechter discusses with Christian Heiss & Parastoo Azadi regarding the SLAS Technology Special Issue: Carbohydrate Structure Analysis: Methods and Applications.

Volume 25 Issue 5, June 2020 Podcast Editor Rob Howes discusses the SLAS Discovery 2020 June Special Collection with SLAS Discovery Editorial Board Member Joseph G. McGivern. To read the editorial by Joseph G. McGivern and Mei Ding, click here. This Special Collection of SLAS Discovery presents a special collection reflecting recent advances and continuing challenges in the development and application of assay technologies that are applicable to drug discovery for ion channel targets.

Two articles are discussed: Traceable Impedance-Based Dispensing and Cloning of Living Single Cells: Single-cell cloning is essential in stem cell biology, cancer research, and biotechnology. Regulatory agencies now require an indisputable proof of clonality that current technologies do not readily provide. Here, we report a one-step cloning method using an engineered pipet combined with an impedance-based sensing tip. This technology permits the efficient and traceable isolation of living cells, stem cells, and cancer stem cells that can be individually expanded in culture and transplanted. Impedance-Based Single-Cell Pipetting: Many biological methods are based on single-cell isolation. In single-cell line development, the gold standard involves the dilution of cells by means of a pipet. This process is time-consuming as it is repeated over several weeks to ensure clonality. Here, we report the modeling, designing, and testing of a disposable pipet tip integrating a cell sensor based on the Coulter principle. We investigate, test, and discuss the effects of design parameters on the sensor performances with an analytical model. We also describe a system that enables the dispensing of single cells using an instrumented pipet coupled with the sensing tip. Most importantly, this system allows the recording of an impedance trace to be used as proof of single-cell isolation. We assess the performances of the system with beads and cells. Finally, we show that the electrical detection has no effect on cell viability. Link to journal articles: Muller G.; Bonzon D.; Claudinot S.; et al. Traceable Impedance-Based Dispensing and Cloning of Living Single Cells    Bonzon D.; Muller G.; Bureau J.; et al. Impedance-Based Single-Cell Pipetting  Link to issue: http://journals.sagepub.com/toc/jlad/25/3

Robert M. Campbell, Ph.D., is Senior Research Advisor at Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis, IN, where he heads the Cancer Cell Growth and Epigenetics Group. Dr. Campbell has served as Editor-in-Chief of SLAS Discovery for the past 12 years, where he has been a vital leader to grow the journal and share its important content. In this podcast, Dr. Campbell talks with our SLAS Discovery Podcast Editor Rob Howes, Ph.D. (AstraZeneca Gothenburg, Sweden) to discuss his work with the journal, as well as a little history about SLAS and the journal, and to make a call to authors and readers about upcoming content and his interest to work with listeners to publish and share their work. For more about Dr. Bob Campbell, read his ELN member profile article, Drum Roll Please! For more information about the journal, visit the SLAS Discovery website or contact Dr. Campbell directly at editorcampbell@slas.org.

The clinical team attending to a patient upon a diagnosis is faced with two main questions: what treatment, and at what dose? Clinical trials’ results provide the basis for guidance and support for official protocols that clinicians use to base their decisions upon. However, individuals rarely demonstrate the reported response from relevant clinical trials, often the average from a group representing a population or subpopulation. The decision complexity increases with combination treatments where drugs administered together can interact with each other, which is often the case. Additionally, the individual’s response to the treatment varies over time with the changes in his or her condition, whether via the indication or physiology. In practice, the drug and the dose selection depend greatly on the medical protocol of the healthcare provider and the medical team’s experience. As such, the results are inherently varied and often suboptimal. Big data approaches have emerged as an excellent decision-making support tool, but their application is limited by multiple challenges, the main one being the availability of sufficiently big datasets with good quality, representative information. An alternative approach—phenotypic personalized medicine (PPM)—finds an appropriate drug combination (quadratic phenotypic optimization platform [QPOP]) and an appropriate dosing strategy over time (CURATE.AI) based on small data collected exclusively from the treated individual. PPM-based approaches have demonstrated superior results over the current standard of care. The side effects are limited while the desired output is maximized, which directly translates into improving the length and quality of individuals’ lives. Link to journal article: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2472630319890316 Link to issue: http://journals.sagepub.com/toc/jlad/25/2

Podcast Editor Rob Howes discusses the SLAS Discovery 2020 February Special Issue with Martin Main and Andrew Zhang. To read their article, click here. 

Over the last decade, flexible analytical devices have received considerable attention in both academia and industry. Compared to conventional analytical devices which are generally made from rigid materials, such as silicon, glass, and plastics, flexible devices offer several unique advantages, such as simplified fabrication, lower costs, enhanced portability and disposability, and compliance to curved or deforming surfaces. For these reasons, flexible analytical devices are well suited for many diagnostic applications, including wearable and in vivo sensing, and point-of-care testing for disease detection and health monitoring. This special issue showcases a comprehensive review and exciting original research on topics ranging from wearable sensors for human motion monitoring and disease diagnosis, flexible electrochemical sensor arrays for human cell culture monitoring, paper-based sensors and immunoassays for diagnostic testing, a paper-based biological solar cell for power generation and storage, and a 3D printing strategy for rapid prototyping of flexible microfluidic devices.  Link to journal articles: http://journals.sagepub.com/toc/jlad/25/1 

Dave Pechter discusses with Chao Li the article, "Automated System for Small-Population Single-Particle Processing Enabled by Exclusive Liquid Repellency."

Professors at Johns Hopkins University, Claire Hur and Deok-Ho Kim, discuss their paper, "Engineering Innovations for Fundamental Biology and Translational Medicine".  

UCLA Professor, Dino Di Carlo, discusses his review paper, "Technologies for the Directed Evolution of Cell Therapies".  

University of Kansas researchers Yangjie Wei and Nicholas Larson talk about how they used a steady-state/lifetime fluorescence-based, high-throughput platform to develop a general workflow for direct formulation optimization under analytically challenging but commercially relevant conditions.

In the November/December 2018 JDMS podcast,  Associate Editor Sharlette Anderson and author Yosefa Pessin discuss her article "Use and Opportunities in CAAHEP-Accredited Programs" To view this article, click here.  

In the September/October 2018 JDMS podcast, Associate Editor Kathryn E. Zale and author Gill Harrison discuss her article "Can Teaching Ultrasound Ergonomics to Ultrasound Practitioners Reduce White Knuckles and Transducer Grip Force?" To view this article, click here.

Guest Editor Richard M. Eglen of Corning Life Sciences (Tewksbury, MA, USA) talks about a new collection of reviews and original research reports that illustrate how the combination of human iPS cells and 3D cell culture technology provide powerful new approaches to the development of novel and more effective therapies. Free access to the published collection is sponsored by Corning Life Sciences.

In the July/August 2018 JDMS podcast, Associate Editor Sharlette Anderson and author Nicole Stigall discuss her article "Abdominal Adiposity Measured by Sonography as a Tool for Determining Disease Risk." To view this article, click here.

Guest Editor James M. Gill, II, Ph.D., of BFL Consulting (Madison, CT) talks about how the October 2018 issue of SLAS Technology showcases life sciences researchers who are pioneering the use of powerful yet accessible and low-cost IoT technologies in their laboratories. Ten articles illustrate how IoT is being used to optimize factors such as throughput, cost, uptime and result quality.

In the May/June 2018 JDMS podcast, Associate Editor Kathryn E. Zale and author Pamela Foy discuss her article "Sonography and Women’s Health." To view this article, click here.

UCLA’s Coleman Murray, Ph.D., talks about his contribution to the August 2018 special issue of SLAS Technology on Enabling Technology in Cell-Based Therapies by guest editor Chris Puleo and his associates at General Electric Global Research. Murray’s article illustrates an important example of how new technologies are changing automation and processing in cell therapy manufacturing.

In the March/April 2018 JDMS podcast, Associate Editor Kerry E. Weinberg and author Robert Sean Dima discuss his article "Feasibility of an Audit System for Canadian Sonographers in Generalist Ultrasound." To view this article, click here.

In the January/February 2018 JDMS podcast, Associate Editor Phillip J. Bendick and author Ashley Barry discuss her article "Sonography’s Role in the Diagnosis of May–Thurner Syndrome." To view this article, click here.

In the November/December 2017 JDMS podcast, Associate Editor Sharlette D. Anderson and author Jennifer E. Bagley discuss her article "The Use of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasonography for the Characterization of Focal Liver Lesions." To view this article, click here.

Guest Editor Anand D. Jeyasekharan, Ph.D., of the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore, Centre for Translational Medicine, talks about the SLAS Technology special issue on Quantitative Imaging in Life Sciences and Biomedical Research. His insight and the articles in this special issue offer a meaningful glimpse into the potential and applicability of quantitative imaging as life sciences and biomedical research move into an era of big data and high-content experiments.

Christian Pylatiuk, Prof. Dr. med., of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Automation and Applied Informatics in Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany, discusses his new article, which describes a zebrafish embryo sorting system with two cameras and image processing based on template-matching algorithms.

Meet Elodie Sollier-Christen of Vortex Biosciences as she talks with SLAS Podcast Editor David Pechter about the groundbreaking technology that earned her the 2017 SLAS Innovation Award.

Listen to author Weian Zhao of the University of California, Irvine, as he talks about his new review article, which summarizes and analyzes representative emerging micro- and nanotechnologies and automated systems for bacterial ID/AST, including phenotypic and molecular methods; discusses representative point-of-care systems that integrate sample processing, fluid handling, and detection for rapid bacterial ID/AST; and highlights major challenges and potential future endeavors toward improving clinical outcomes.

Dr. Elzbieta Jastrzebska of Warsaw University of Technology (Poland) talks about how microsystems can be used to understand processes in heart tissue in detail and to test newly developed compounds applied in the treatment of cardiac diseases.

In the September/October 2017 JDMS podcast, Associate Editor Shawn Roll and author Cathie Scholl discuss the article "Barriers to Performing Ergonomic Scanning Techniques for Sonographers." To view this article, click here.

In the July/August 2017 JDMS podcast, Associate Editor Derek Butler and author Michael Rampoldi discuss the article "The Role of Echocardiography in the Assessment of Ventricular Septal Rupture Postmyocardial Infarction." To view this article, click here.

Dr. Amar Basu of Wayne State University talks with SLAS Technology Podcasts Editor David Pechter about his in-depth, two-part review on digital assays (partitioning statistics and digital PCR; digital protein and cell assays).

In the May/June 2017 JDMS podcast, Associate Editor Angela Butwin and author Jenny Sim discuss the article "Understanding Sonography Clinical Decision-Making Learning Through Student Voices." To view this article, click here.

SLAS Technology 22.3 June 2017 Special issue guest editors Dean Ho, Ph.D. and Ali Zarrinpar, M.D., Ph.D. of the University of California, Los Angeles, talk about the state of personalized and precision medicine and the 11 reviews and reports that explore innovation from a cross section of the disciplines driving major advances in PPM.

SLAS Technology 22.2 April 2017 2016 SLAS Innovation Award Winner Shana O. Kelley talks about new solutions for faster bacterial identification and analysis, and recent advances in managing infectious disease by leveraging single-cell analysis, microfluidic concentration and detection strategies, and ultrasensitive readout mechanisms.

In the March/April 2017 JDMS podcast, Editor Kevin Evans and author Kevin Volz discuss the article, "Targeted Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound for Inflammation Detection: A Review of Current Evidence." To view this article, click here.

In the January/February 2017 JDMS podcast, Associate Editor Dora DiGiacinto and author Nelangi Pinto discuss the article, "Sonographer-Identified Barriers and Facilitators to Prenatal Screening for Congenital Heart Disease: A Mixed Methods Study." To view this article, click here.

In the November/December 2016 JDMS podcast, Editor Kevin Evans and author Ashley McClure discuss the article, "Using High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound as a Means to Provide Targeted Drug Delivery: A Literature Review." To view this article, click here.

In the September/October 2016 JDMS podcast, Editor Phil Bendick and author Garth Nanni discuss the article, "Decidualized Endometriosis: Case Study of a Rare Condition in a Rare Location." To view this article, click here.

SLAS Technology 22.1 February 2017 From being able to move liquid with sound to dispense primary cells and DNA to microfluidic-based immunoassays, SLAS Technology Editor-in-Chief talks about the groundbreaking achievements reflected in the 2017 SLAS Technology Ten. This year’s highlighted papers push the envelope of what is possible with automation, integrating new functions into high-throughput sample preparation and screening to further drive efficiencies in research.

Author Alison Obergrussberger of Nanion Technologies in Munich, Germany, discusses a planar patch clamp system with modular design capable of recording up to 384 cells simultaneously, and explains how the module can be incorporated into different state-of-the-art pipetting robots for seamless integration into high-throughput screening processes.

Author Aman Russom of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, talks with JALA Podcasts Editor David Pechter about a point-of-care microfluidic device that combines sample preparation methods to perform sample-to-result analysis of large-volume (20 mL) biopsy model samples with staining of captured cells using centrifugal-paper microfluidic filtration.

In the July/August 2016 JDMS podcast, incoming Editor-In-Chief Kevan Evans and author Ted Scott discuss his article, "Screening for Congenital Heart Disease: Sonographic Features and Techniques for Prenatal Detection." To view this article, click here.

In the May/June 2016 JDMS podcast, Vascular Section Editor, Derek C. Butler, and author Joleen Duarte Rodriguez discuss her article, "Brachiocephalic Artery Disease Progression Resulting in Complex Steal Phenomena." To view this article, click here.

Despite the hype and headlines, 3D printing truly is a paradigm shift in how life sciences research can be conducted. The August 2016 issue of JALA presents a special collection of manuscripts devoted to this timely topic. Learn more from collection organizers Jay Gill and Alden Hart.

In the March/April 2016 JDMS podcast, Obstetrics & Gynecology Section, Editor Karen Having and author Crista Podsadecki discuss her article, "Perineural (Tarlov) Cyst Imitating Complex Adnexal Cyst: A Sonographic and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Correlation." To view this article, click here.

Centrifugal microfluidics has experienced much growth in recent years, especially in applications such as lab-on-a-disc (LoD) diagnostics. The strength of LoD systems lies in their potential for development into integrated sample-to-answer analysis systems. Author Ling X. Kong talks about her review of technologies necessary to develop next gen systems, valving and other fluid-handling operations, and the future of LoD reagent storage, sample prep, nucleic acid amplification, and analyte detection strategies.

This special issue of JALA focuses on advancements that integrate automation and high-throughput into traditional and emerging imaging applications, including “Fully Automated One-Step Production of Functional 3D Tumor Spheroids for High-Content Screening.” Learn from the authors of this original research report in this JALA Podcast.