Size fractionation of microscopic protein aggregates using a preparative fluorescence-activated cell sorter.

Protein aggregation, which takes place both in vivo and in vitro, is an important degradative pathway for all proteins. Protein aggregates have distinct physicochemical and biological properties that are important to study and characterize from the perspective of both fundamental and applied sciences. The size of protein aggregates varies across a huge range, spanning several orders of magnitude.

Discrimination between silicone oil droplets and protein aggregates in biopharmaceuticals: a novel multiparametric image filter for sub-visible particles in microflow imaging analysis.

Purpose: Accurate monitoring of the sub-visible particle load in protein biopharmaceuticals is increasingly important to drug development. Manufacturers are expected to characterize and control sub-visible protein particles in their products due to their potential immunogenicity. Light obscuration, the most commonly used analytical tool to count microscopic particles, does not allow discrimination between potentially harmful protein aggregates and harmless pharmaceutical components, e.

Expectations of patients, nurses and physicians in geriatric nursing home emergencies.

Objectives: To determine contentment with the performance of primary mission emergency care providers.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted using key informant interviews to assess quality of life and self-rated degree of contentment with care in geriatric emergencies.

Results: Interviews concerning a total of 152 geriatric emergency cases in nursing homes were conducted with patients in 13 (8.

Formulation development of antibodies using robotic system and high-throughput laboratory (HTL).

Since each antibody has its unique physical chemical properties, optimal formulation for one antibody is likely not applicable for the others. To rapidly screen multiple antibody formulations, an automated system was constructed to perform sample preparation, testing, and data management. Using the automatic system, up to 500 liquid formulations can be prepared in deep well microplates and further distributed into standard microplates that can be stored under different stress conditions for degradation studies.

Hospitalisation costs of cystic fibrosis.

Objective: To calculate per-case hospital costs for patients with cystic fibrosis under routine conditions from a healthcare provider's perspective; identify the impact of different cost categories; investigate whether cases with cystic fibrosis can be grouped into homogenous cost groups according to defined severity levels; and determine the value of specific factors as predictors of hospital cost variations.

Methods: All data were collected from cases (n = 131) admitted to an inpatient cystic fibrosis unit under routine conditions during a period of 6 months in 2004. All costs were calculated for the year 2004 and divided into categories with high and low impact on variation in hospitalisation costs between patients.