Stable measurement of chemistry, immunochemistry, and hematology analytes in a heparin-based anticoagulant with iloprost additive: A promising candidate for the polyvalent blood collection tube.

Introduction: A polyvalent blood collection tube could potentially reduce the number and volume of blood samples drawn from patients and reduce the risk of tube mix-ups in a point-of-care setting in the emergency department and the intensive care unit.

Methods: Four different concentrations of our experimental heparin anticoagulant with iloprost additive (HEP-ILOP 50 nM, 150 nM, 1000 nM, and 10 μM, respectively) were tested for significant differences and bias performance specifications against EDTA for 29 hematology analytes, and the highest concentration (HEP-ILOP 10 μM) against lithium heparin for 14 chemistry and immunochemistry analytes. Samples were drawn from 79 consenting subjects from the Oncology Department (n = 38) and the Intensive and Intermediary Care Unit (n = 41).

Large-Scale mRNA Transfection of Dendritic Cells by Electroporation in Continuous Flow Systems.

Electroporation is well established for transient mRNA transfection of many mammalian cells, including immune cells such as dendritic cells used in cancer immunotherapy. Therapeutic application requires methods to efficiently electroporate and transfect millions of immune cells in a fast process with high cell survival. Continuous flow of suspended dendritic cells through a channel incorporating spatially separated microporous meshes with a synchronized electrical pulsing sequence can yield dendritic cell transfection rates of >75 % with survival rates of >90 %.

Increased adsorption of histidine-tagged proteins onto tissue culture polystyrene.

In this study we compare histidine-tagged and native proteins with regards to adsorption properties. We observe significantly increased adsorption of proteins with an incorporated polyhistidine amino acid motif (HIS-tag) onto tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) compared to similar proteins without a HIS-tag. The effect is not observed on polystyrene (PS).