Biophysical Society 59th Annual Meeting Program Guide

183

Biophysical Society 59

Annual Meeting, Baltimore, Maryland

Room A: Monday, February 9

9:30

–11:00

Pall ForteBio LLC

Measuring Engineered Changes in Binding Affinity with the BLItz®

Label-Free System

Combining Organic Synthesis and Directed Evolution to Design Glycocluster

HIV Vaccine Candidates

We will describe a new method for design of carbohydrate HIV vaccines,

which combines organic synthesis and directed evolution techniques. This

work originates from the observation that some HIV positive individuals

produce antibodies which are broadly neutralizing and protective against

HIV infection. One such antibody, 2G12, recognizes and binds to a

cluster of carbohydrates on the viral envelope protein gp120. Our goal is

to develop synthetic carbohydrate clusters which closely mimic the viral

carbohydrate cluster, and which might thus elicit a 2G12-like antibody

response when used as a vaccine. In order to design carbohydrate clusters

which closely mimic gp120, we have developed evolution-based strategies,

in which immobilized 2G12 is used to recognize and fish out the best gly-

cocluster mimics of gp120 from amongst large libraries of ~10 trillion dif-

ferent glycosylated peptide- or DNA structures. The glycocluster structures

obtained by these methods are recognized by antibody 2G12 as strongly as

is the viral protein itself, and are thus of great interest for vaccine studies.

Tips and Tricks for Developing BLItz Assays

The BLItz label-free assay system is a simple-to-use benchtop instrument

for measuring binding interactions of antibodies and proteins using as little

as 4µl of sample. Additional case studies of how the BLItz system is being

used to qualify biophysical models will be presented, along with tips and

tricks for developing kinetics assays on the BLItz system.

Presenters

Isaac Krauss, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Brandeis University

Craig Tin, Senior Product Manager, Pall Forte Bio LLC

11:30

–1:00

Asylum Research, an Oxford Instruments Company

There’s No Other AFM Like Cypher™

—

High Resolution Atomic

Force Microscopy Made Easier and Faster

Asylum Research has focused on improving AFM instrumentation to

make imaging in liquid easier, faster and more quantitative for life sci-

ence applications. Please join us for this 'Lunch and Learn' presentation

that will focus on the latest technical advances in AFM that enable high

resolution imaging of the structure and dynamics of samples including

proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. We’ll show examples of how the Cypher

ES Environmental AFM allows users to control the environment around

their sample and perform perfusion experiments easily. You’ll learn about

Cypher’s numerous ease-of-use features such as GetStarted™, GetReal™,

and blueDrive™ for easy and stable imaging in liquid. We will introduce

you to Fast Force Mapping, our unique technology that measures mechan-

ical properties of your samples faster and more reliably. This is also a great

opportunity to ask our scientists any questions you may have about AFM.

Presenter

Irène Revenko, Applications Scientist, Asylum Research, an Oxford

Instruments Company

1:30

–3:00

World Precision Instruments

Side-Stepping the Animal Model: Cardiac Work Loops in Human

iPSC-derived Myocytes.

Cardiac pressure-volume loops on a complete organ provide the frame-

work for understanding cardiac mechanics in experimental animal models,

most notably in the context of Frank-Starling mechanisms. With the

development of more sensitive transducers, this work has been applied to

single cardiac cells, using freshly isolated cells from an animal model. With

the advent of iPSC-derived myocytes, a whole new range of cell types is

now available to the investigator. We introduce a novel mounting applica-

tion for overcoming the technical difficulties in instrumenting these cells

for force measurements. With this technology, it is now possible to conduct

experiments on human stem cell-derived myocytes.

We will show preliminary results, the tools required for these types of

experiments, mounting methods, and a novel method for direct force

measurements on human iPSC-derived myocytes. In addition, two dif-

ferent methods for real-time determination of length changes in isolated

iPSC-derived myocytes will be presented. The results are preliminary,

however indicate the possibility for not only a reduction in the use of

the animal models in cardiac research, but also the direct investigation of

human cardiovascular disease.

3:30

–5:00

Bruker Nano Surfaces

Recent Advances in Atomic Force Microscopy for Biological Research

Bruker’s latest BioScope AFM is the perfect integration of AFM and invert-

ed light microscopy. It incorporates Bruker’s latest Peak Force Tapping

innovations including the new nanomechanics package, which signifi-

cantly expands mechanobiology applications into a lower modulus range

covering live cells and tissues. With its open access design, and bio friendly

features and accessories, the latest BioScope AFM is the most integrated

and easiest to use life science AFM available. The workshop will include

examples of the functional integration of light microscopy techniques

with AFM in order to conduct optically guided, high-resolution mapping

of both the structural and mechanical properties of mammalian cells.

Presenter

John Thornton, Senior Applications Engineer, Bruker Nano Surfaces

5:30

–7:00

HEKA Elektronik

HEKA Electrophysiology Update

For over 40 years, HEKA has provided innovative products, expert tech

support and unmatched service to their customers. HEKA's commitment

to technological innovation is reflected by consistent updating of both

hardware and software. While yesterday's gold standards try to keep pace

with the latest research techniques, HEKA takes the lead.

By popular demand, HEKA is hosting a series of user meetings with

tutorial presentations. On one hand, some of the new products will be

showcased to the experienced user and, on the other hand, step-by-step

guidance is provided to the researcher who is new to the field. Registration

is available online through the HEKA Events Page on EventBrite, or by