An improved and highly selective fluorescence assay for measuring phosphatidylserine decarboxylase activity.

Phosphatidylserine decarboxylases (PSDs) catalyze the conversion of phosphatidylserine (PS) to phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), a critical step in membrane biogenesis and a potential target for development of antimicrobial and anti-cancer drugs. PSD activity has typically been quantified using radioactive substrates and products. Recently, we described a fluorescence-based assay that measures the PSD reaction using distyrylbenzene-bis-aldehyde (DSB-3), whose reaction with PE produces a fluorescence signal.

Optical Recording of Zn Dynamics in the Mitochondrial Matrix and Intermembrane Space with the GZnP2 Sensor.

The zinc ion (Zn) is emerging as an important signaling molecule. Here, we engineered an improved Zn probe GZnP2 based on a previously developed fluorescent sensor GZnP1 to provide a higher fluorescent readout (2-fold higher) that is proportional to cellular labile Zn concentrations. We further developed a set of GZnP2 derived imaging tools to determine the labile Zn concentrations in the mitochondrial matrix, mitochondrial intermembrane space (IMS), and cytosol in four different cell lines (HeLa, Cos-7, HEK293, and INS-1).

Leadership and effective succession planning in health-system pharmacy departments.

Leadership succession planning is crucial to the continuity of the comprehensive vision of the hospital pharmacy department. Leadership development is arguably the main component of training and preparing pharmacists to assume managerial positions. Succession planning begins with a review of the organizational chart in the context of the institution's strategic plan.