Latest news from Syngene

Imperial College London 2D imaging

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Imperial College London, has chosen Dyversity, Syngene’s 2D gel imaging system, to assist in identifying the complex proteins associated with human diseases.

A tool for multi disciplinary research

In addition to multiplex imaging of 2D protein gels pre-labelled by Cy dyes, the Dyversity system, which has been fitted with precision made filters, UV and visible lighting modules, is being used by up to 200 scientists a year in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College to image 1D protein and DNA gels, as well as chemiluminescent blots stained with a range of visible, fluorescent and chemiluminescent dyes respectively.

Dr Judit Nagy, Research Scientist in Proteomics, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, explained: “When the Institute opened last year, we wanted to make sure that our core facilities would support all scientists in the institute and their multi disciplinary research. This meant that we needed an image acquisition system which could be used in a wide range of research projects to perform the most demanding 2D gel imaging, as well as the simplest gel documentation.”

Why we chose Syngene

“Having evaluated four systems from major suppliers, we chose Dyversity because its functionality is equivalent to two imaging systems and a laser scanner, but in one unit. We are delighted to be the first site in the UK to have a Dyversity system,” added Dr Nagy.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center - western blot imaging

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Scientists in the Department of Anesthesiology at DHMC are using a G:BOX Chemi HR16 to image Western blots of HRP labelled proteins that are involved in inflammatory processes, (p-ERK, total-ERK, MKP1, NOS2, IL-1 and TNF) isolated from neonatal cortical microglial cells treated with new drugs, post peripheral nerve injury. By identifying a protein’s presence, DHMC researchers hope to determine which drugs most effectively treat the pain caused by peripheral nerve injury.

G:BOX Chemi HR16 improved the sensitivity of imaging Western blots

Dr Edgar Alfonso Romero-Sandoval, Instructor of Anesthesiology at the DHMC explained: “Pain following peripheral nerve injury often responds poorly to available therapies, which is why we are looking at new drugs to treat it. To do this we use expensive rat primary cell cultures that yield little protein and were using a laser scanner to image our Westerns but could not detect the microgram amounts of proteins we had, as there was so much background.”

Why we chose Syngene

Dr Romero-Sandoval commented: “We switched to a G:BOX Chemi HR16 because it allows us to adjust exposure conditions, (something we couldn’t do with our laser scanner) to detect these tiny protein amounts. Using a G:BOX Chemi HR16 has improved the sensitivity of imaging our Western blots so much, we have been able to reduce the detecting antibody concentration by 2-4 fold and significantly lowered reagent costs. Additionally, with a G:BOX we can strip our membranes several times and are still able to detect different proteins using the same blot derived from the same experiment and cell culture.”

National Heart & Lung Institute - 1D gel imaging

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0400

G:BOX Chemi HR16 is being used at the National Heart & Lung Institute to assist in identifying proteins associated with cardiomyopathy.

How we use the G:BOX Chemi HR16 system

Researchers at the NHLI are using the G:BOX Chemi HR16 system fitted with a 9-position filter wheel to visualise 1D gels of proteins stained with Pro-Q® Diamond, SYPRO® Ruby and Pro-Q® Emerald (Invitrogen). These images are then being analysed with GeneTools, Syngene’s market leading software to quantify the amounts of phosphorylated and glycosylated proteins present in diseased human and mouse heart tissues. The results of this research could ultimately help to determine which proteins are associated with different cardiac diseases.

Excellent sensitivity

Dr Clare Gallon, a Research Associate in Cardiac Medicine at the NHLI said: ”We routinely use the G:BOX Chemi HR16 many times a day for imaging a variety of fluorescently stained proteins from cellular heart extracts. The system provides excellent sensitivity allowing us to see even very small amounts of expressed proteins, and using the GeneTools software, image analysis is rapid, making it easy for us to obtain accurate results immediately. We are so pleased with the performance of the G:BOX Chemi HR16 that we have had a Qdot filter fitted to extend the system’s future application range to imaging different coloured Qdot labelled proteins on single Western blots”.

Oklahoma State University - 2D gel analysis

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Researchers in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at OSU are using Dymension to accurately determine 2D protein profiles of aphids, honey bees, termites and ticks. In the aphid project, protein profiles are being used to determine which proteins are up or down-regulated in host adaptation and this information may in the long term help design and breed crops with greater resistance to aphid attack.

Faster than any 2D protein gel analysis software on the market

The Dymension software installed at OSU is currently faster than any 2D protein gel analysis software on the market and can analyse a typical 2D gel image in seconds rather than minutes. It has a unique spot finding algorithm which provides precise spot detection, resulting in minimal post editing, thus saving hours using other software. These features, coupled with automatic gel alignment, means OSU scientists will save time because they will not have to leave analysis running for hours as imaging process including results and report generation takes only minutes.

Syngene technical support was exceptional

Robin Madden, Senior Research Specialist, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at OSU commented: "We chose Dymension because of the three software packages we reviewed the consensus was this is the easiest to use. Additionally, the program is affordable, its capabilities compare well with other packages we tried and the level of technical support we received from Syngene was exceptional.”

University of Cambridge - gel electrophoresis

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Researchers in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge use the G:BOX Chemi HR16 to perform automatic quantification of fluorescently labelled oligosaccharides on PACE (polysaccharide analysis using carbohydrate gel electrophoresis) gels to produce a unique profile of the plant’s cell wall composition.

The G:BOX Chemi HR16 helps save time

Dr Florence Goubet, a post-doctoral scientist from Dr Paul Dupree’s team in the Department of Biochemistry explained: “PACE and automated quantification can be substituted for chromatography and mass spectrometry techniques, both of which require pure or large amounts of compounds to generate results from just a few plant samples. Using our method we can process up to 100 samples a day and can detect oligosaccharides in the picomole range, which means we can rapidly identify whether we have successfully genetically engineered the plants we are modifying.”

Dr Goubet continued: “We chose the G:BOX Chemi HR16 for this project because it is an inexpensive, yet accurate way of scanning fluorescently labelled gels. Additionally, because the system is integrated to GeneTools software, we have the added benefit of automatically analysing an image to generate results from a gel in less than 10 seconds.”

University of Massachusetts - gel documentation

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Researchers in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Massachusetts are using the GeneFlash gel documentation (gel doc) system to visualize 298 bp PCR fragments of Chlamydia pneumoniae on ethidium bromide stained agarose gels. The PCR fragments are generated from pediatric bronchial tissue using specific Chlamydia pneumoniae primers. The long-term aim of this study is to improve treatment for asthmatics by showing that this bacterium is a contributing factor in their condition.

Generates high quality results

Dr Wilmore Webley, an Assistant Professor at the Department of Microbiology stated: “We installed the GeneFlash a year ago because we needed an inexpensive system that would detect the limited amounts of Chlamydia DNA we work with. We have found using the GeneFlash is really convenient. The system doesn’t have a computer so it can easily fit into a small space and you can save all the images to Flash card which you can then take and work with on your own computer. The system gets used on a daily basis and we have had good success generating high quality results with it. In fact, we have published one paper with GeneFlash images showing the link between pediatric asthma and Chlamydia pneumoniae and have another paper ready to go to review.”

Georgetown University Medical Center - 2d image analysis

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Researchers in the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at GUMC are using Dymension, currently the fastest 2D protein gel analysis software on the market, to analyze images of Coomassie Blue stained proteins derived from breast cancer cell lines (MCF7 and MDA MB231) after treatment with an 8-Quinolinyl histone deacetylase inhibitor. From the analysis, GUMC scientists have isolated many proteins that are significantly up or down-regulated, which could provide information about the drug’s molecular targets and molecular mechanisms in cancer treatment.

Easy to use, best value for money, better performance

Dr Amrita Cheema, Research Instructor, in the Department of Oncology, GUMC commented: “Many studies show that inhibition of histone deacetylase can lead to the histone-deacetylase-mediated transcriptional repression of tumor suppressor genes and we have used 2D gels to see the protein profile from breast cancer cells at different time points of treatment with a 8-Quinolinyl histone deacetylase inhibitor.”

“We chose to use Dymension for analyzing our 2D gels because of the software packages we tested, this is the easiest to use and also represents the best value for money as it is capable of better performance than the more expensive software we looked at. Using Dymension we have detected hundreds of interesting proteins, which we are now validating by Western blot and MS analysis,” added Dr Cheema.

East Tennessee State University - 2d image analysis

Fri, 07 May 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Researchers in the Departments of Pediatrics/Chemistry at ETSU are using Dymension to rapidly analyze 2D gel images of silver stained proteins derived from a prostate cancer (LNCaP) cell line treated with delta-tocotrienol, (a form of Vitamin E). From the analysis, they have isolated a number of proteins that are significantly up or down-regulated, which when identified, could provide critical information for the design of more effective drugs for the treatment and prevention of prostate cancer.

Straightforward analysis and excellent technical support

Mr Christian Mbangha Muenyi, Research Assistant in the Pediatrics/Chemistry Departments at ETSU explained: ”In many studies, it has been shown that Vitamin E is cytotoxic to some prostate cancer cell lines, so we want to find out what is happening at the molecular level during this induced cell death. We have been using a proteomics approach with 2D gels for several years but found with our previous analysis software it was difficult and time consuming to manipulate gel images to obtain meaningful data.”

Mr Muenyi continued: “This is why we switched to using Dymension two years ago. Since then analysis has been more straightforward and this coupled with excellent technical support we have had from Syngene has helped us with rapidly detecting a number of interesting proteins. In fact, we are so pleased with Dymension we are going to upgrade the software’s capability to allow us to perform DIGE analysis.”