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Exhibitor Presentation
Asylum Research,
an Oxford Instruments Company
11:30 am - 1:00 pm, Room 505
Soft, Sticky, and Viscous: Practical Considerations for Measuring Cell
Mechanics with AFM
The atomic force microscope (AFM) has found broad use in the investiga-
tion of cell mechanics, with numerous studies of cell stiffness and modu-
lus dating back over a decade. Because AFM can quantitatively measure
the mechanical properties of individual live cells, novel insights to cell
function and to cell-substrate interactions have been realized. This is
pertinent for cell biology, as it has been demonstrated that the geometri-
cal and mechanical properties of the extracellular microenvironment are
important in such processes as cancer, cardiovascular disease, muscular
dystrophy, and even the control of cell life and death. Indeed, the ability
to control and quantify these external geometrical and mechanical pa-
rameters now arises as a key issue in the field and AFM seems poised to
play a prominent role in building that understanding.
The use of AFM in this field presents unique challenges and opportuni-
ties. Some of the most important considerations are because many of
the AFM techniques used here have largely been borrowed from those
first developed for materials science. This is simultaneously a success of
interdisciplinary research and an opportunity to further tailor measure-
ments to cells and biological materials, which have some fundamentally
different characteristics compared to polymers. Most dramatically, cells
are far “softer” than polymers, usually at least 100× lower in modulus
than even soft rubbers and easily 10,000× lower in modulus than some
common plastics. Further, cells are usually quite “sticky,” leading to large
adhesion to the AFM tip that can complicate measurements. Finally, cells
are often strongly viscoelastic, exhibiting not just elastic deformation de-
scribed by the elastic modulus but also a viscous response that depends
on the velocity of the deformation- and this mechanical component
can sometimes be lost or ignored in certain experimental setups and
techniques. In fact, this viscous response may prove just as enlightening
to cell mechanics as the elastic response more commonly measured
alone until recently. This talk will discuss these important issues that
must be considered when AFM techniques are applied to cells and other
biological materials.
Speaker
Sophia Hohlbauch, Asylum Research, an Oxford Instruments Company
Exhibitor Presentation
Nanion Technologies GmbH
12:30 pm - 2:00 pm, Room 513
Ion Channel Drug Discovery - Beyond the Bottlenecks and Ready
for CiPA
Nanion Technologies is one of the leading providers of automated
patch clamp systems, offering a diverse product portfolio ranging from
single channel recordings to HTS-compatible ion channel drug discov-
ery. During this workshop, we will show how to push the boundaries
of patch clamp-based ion channel high throughput screening projects
of various voltage- and ligand gated targets, and how to get ready for
CiPA-compliant safety screening going well beyond hERG.
Cardiac arrhythmic risk assessment is a hot topic these days calling for
new screening strategies. With the CiPA-initiative, the panel of cardiac ion
channels to consider have drastically expanded, consequently requiring
increased data throughput for early compound safety prediction.
The
SyncroPatch 384/768PE
, an automated patch clamp platform record-
ing from up to 768 cells simultaneously, allows the highest data through-
put on the market supporting HTS of ion channel active compounds and
early safety assessment on cardiac channels. Examples will be shown,
where six different cardiac channels were recorded using one single plate,
in one single run.
Patchliner
, a medium-throughput APC platform, supports automated cur-
rent clamp recordings, experiments at physiological temperatures, and a
minimal cell usage, making it the ideal partner for safety testing on stem
cell derived cardiomyocytes. Additionally, the
CardioExcyte 96
, a hybrid
system combining impedance-based and EFP recordings from beating
cardiomyocyte networks from 96 recording wells in parallel, has proven
a versatile tool for safety and toxicity screening applications serving as a
powerful tool complementing APC.
The
SURFE2R
technology allows direct and functional measurements
electrogenic transporter. Hands-on experiments on the SURFE2R will be
shown. Also membrane fragments from Chantest, a Charles River com-
pany, will be used.
Join our workshop to learn more about new safety screening strategies
and how to keep up with the increasing demands on cardiac safety and
toxicity screening.
Speakers
Maria Barthmes, Nanion Technologies GmbH
Andrea Brüggemann, Nanion Technologies GmbH
Niels Fertig, Nanion Technologies GmbH
Markus Rapedius, Nanion Technologies GmbH
NSF Grant Writing Workshop
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm, Room 403B
Putting your best foot forward in your grant proposal is key to securing
funding for research. Program officers past and present from the National
Science Foundation will walk attendees through the process and provide
tips on how to prepare the best possible proposal during this session,
sponsored by the Public Affairs Committee.
Panelists
Gary Pielak, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Kamal Shukla, NSF
Industry Panel
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm, Room 411
Are you interested in learning about science in industry? Stop by to hear
from a panel of experts who work in bio-related industries. The panel
will provide guidance on techniques and skill sets that are sought after
in industry and discuss ideas on how to incorporate industry relevant
techniques in academic research.
Panel Chair
Anita Niedziela-Majka, Gilead Sciences Inc
Speakers to be announced
Exhibitor Presentation
KinTek Corp
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm, Room 505
Why You Should Fit Kinetic and Equilibrium Binding Data Using KinTek
Explorer Software
KinTek Explorer
software offers the fastest, most dynamic and robust
method of fitting kinetic or equilibrium binding data. Based on fast
numerical integration of rate equations, data are fit without the often-
inaccurate approximations needed to derive equations. Rather than
fitting data to extract “observed rates” or Eigenvalues, which must be
then interpreted in second step,
KinTek Explorer
yield rate and equilib-
rium constants directly while accounting for both the rate and ampli-
tude of observable reactions. By modeling the experiments exactly as