A new model isolates glioblastoma clonal interactions and reveals unexpected modes for regulating motility, proliferation, and drug resistance.

Tumor clonal heterogeneity drives treatment resistance. But robust models are lacking that permit eavesdropping on the basic interaction network of tumor clones. We developed an in vitro, functional model of clonal cooperation using U87MG glioblastoma cells, which isolates fundamental clonal interactions.

Establishment of a reference standard database for use in the qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis of pharmaceutical contact materials within an extractables survey by GC-MS.

The analysis of reference standards may be performed to enhance the qualitative and quantitative data generated by non-specific screening methods utilized in extractables studies performed on pharmaceutical contact materials. However, the establishment of a database containing relative response factor and retention index values obtained from these standards has not been published. In this study, the establishment of such a database for GC-MS, a methodology commonly included in extractables studies, on an intra-lab basis was investigated.

A microfluidic device for the automated derivatization of free fatty acids to fatty acid methyl esters.

Free fatty acid (FFA) compositions are examined in feedstock for biodiesel production, as source-specific markers in soil, and because of their role in cellular signaling. However, sample preparation of FFAs for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis can be time and labor intensive. Therefore, to increase sample preparation throughput, a glass microfluidic device was developed to automate derivatization of FFAs to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs).

Recent advances in microfluidic detection systems.

There are numerous detection methods available for microfluidic analyses. Both conventional and novel detection methods are being put to use for detection on these miniaturized systems, with the analyte of interest driving the choice of detection method. In this article, we summarize microfluidic-based detection strategies from the last 2 years.