Despite a smaller Galileo, the father crowd attendees ... · of interest to you. if you’d rather...

The DefiniTive Source for Lab ProDucTS, newS anD DeveLoPmenTS

www.labusinessmag.com March/April 2014

Pittcon Slow but Steady

Despite a smaller crowd attendees still find value at Pittcon

10

momentS in timeGalileo, the father of modern science, turns 450

23

the SPutum and aeroSol labS at firh are helPing PatientS

one breath at a time

Can

adia

n Pu

blic

atio

ns M

ail P

rodu

ct S

ales

Agr

eem

ent 4

0063

567

breathe inbreathe inbreathe in breathe outbreathe outbreathe out

contentS

www.labbusinessmag.com 3

reSPiratory reSearch

by LinDSay GrummeTT

The Firestone Clinic’s state-of-the-art sputum and aerosol labs are

helping patients and perfecting drug delivery systems.

momentS in time

by ammi Parmar

Happy 450th birthday to the father of modern science,

Galileo Galilei, perhaps the pivotal figure in the development

of modern astronomy.

23

doeS Pittcon need to be PoPular?

by nicoLaS heffernan

Despite smaller crowds and fewer exhibitors attendees maintain that

Pittcon is still worth it thanks to invaluable business opportunities.

10

StandardS

editor’S note 5

canadian news 6

tech watch 22

momentS in time 23

14

@on the Web aT www.labbusinessmag.com

on facebook aT /biolabmag

on tWitter aT @biolabmag

march/aPriL 2014

20lab ware

8Suzuki matters

Full page journal ad BioBusiness and Lab Business - BBU and LBU

025.A1.0111.A © 2014 Eppendorf AG.

www.eppendorf.ca/detection • 800-263-8715

Ready for ReadingEppendorf PlateReader AF2200

> Plate reader for UV/Vis absorption and fluorescence intensity (top and bottom reading)

> Pre-programmed applications for quick start including basic data analysis

> Eppendorf accessories from microplates to the micro-volume measuring plate

The new Eppendorf PlateReaderAF2200 is specially designed for UV/Vis and fluorescence readings in 6 to 384-well format. The system is developed to simplify set-up procedures and data analysis. This makes your daily lab work easier.

025.A1.0111.A.CA.14-LBU.indd 1 4/1/14 4:13 PM

Editor’s NOTE


Publisher chriSToPher J. forbeS & CEO [email protected]

Executive Editor ThereSa roGerS [email protected]

Associate Editor nicoLaS heffernan [email protected]

Staff Writer LinDSay GrummeTT [email protected]

Editorial Intern ammi Parmar

Contributors DaviD Suzuki

Art kaTrina TeimourabaDi Director [email protected]

Secretary/ SuSan a. browne Treasurer

Marketing kaTeLyn furLonG Manager [email protected]

Marketing miDya TSoy Co-ordinator [email protected]

VP of roberTa Dick Production [email protected]

Production crySTaL himeS Manager [email protected]

Production Joanna forbeS Co-ordinator [email protected]

Lab business is published 6 times per year by Jesmar communications inc., 30 east beaver creek rd., Suite 202, richmond hill, ontario L4b 1J2. 905.886.5040. fax: 905.886.6615 www.labbusinessmag.com one year subscription: canada $35.00, uS $35.00 and foreign $95. Single copies $9.00. Please add GST/hST where applicable. Lab business subscription and circulation enquiries: Garth atkinson, [email protected] fax: 905.509.0735 Subscriptions to business address only. on occasion, our list is made available to organizations whose products or services may be of interest to you. if you’d rather not receive information, write to us at the address above or call 905.509.3511. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced either in part or in whole without the written consent of the publisher. GST registration #r124380270.

PUbLicatioNS MaiL aGreeMeNt No. 40063567retUrN UNDeLiVerabLe caNaDiaN aDDreSSeS to circULatioN DePt.202-30 eaSt beaVer creek rDrichMoND hiLL, oN L4b 1J2email: [email protected]

JeSmar communicaTionS inc.

Publisher ofLab buSineSS magazinebio buSineSS magazine

Printed in canada

ServinG canaDian LaboraTorieS anD Lab SuPPLierS Since 1985

The DefiniTive Source for Lab ProDucTS, newS anD DeveLoPmenTS

www.labusinessmag.com March/April 2014

Pittcon Slow but Steady

Despite a smaller crowd attendees still find value at Pittcon

10

momentS in timeGalileo, the father of modern science, turns 450

23

the SPutum and aeroSol labS at firh are helPing PatientS

one breath at a time

Can

adia

n Pu

blic

atio

ns M

ail P

rodu

ct S

ales

Agr

eem

ent 4

0063

567

breathe inbreathe inbreathe in breathe outbreathe outbreathe outChampioning the Business of Biotechnology in Canada

MARCH / APRIL 2014

MoMent In tIMePolio was officially eliminated from the Americas 20 years ago22

BIoteCH In BogotAColombia is developing as an unlikely hotspot for innovation8

vALuABLe vACCInesThe best defence against communicable disease18

Canadian Publications Mail Product—Agreement 40063567

Progress with HIV/AIDS

vaccines and therapeutics has experts hopeful

tu

rning A

do the flip!The HIV/AIDS epidemic continues but hope might be on the way.

Nicolas HeffernanaSSociaTe eDiTor

another year, another Pittcon.This is my second go-round at this event. Last year I

was wowed by the sheer size and spectacle of it but when I walked around and spoke to the seasoned Pittcon-goers they were less than impressed. The show had fallen off. There were fewer and fewer people offering up fewer and fewer business leads. Yet people rallied to the conference’s defence: sure there are less people but the opportunity to meet people face to face means it’s still worth it.

Landing in Chicago on a cold Monday morning in March and heading to the conference centre, I was looking forward to see what, if anything had changed this year. Walking into McCormick Place I looked around and I could see the proverbial tumbleweed blowing through the aisles. It was deserted. Granted, the winter weather had been horrendous and that has been cited as a possible reason for the lower turnout, but I was still shocked.

I made my way over to our booth and it was just as deserted. On Monday it began to pick up for a bit but on Tuesday it got to the point where I started to feel lonely at our booth. There was nobody walking by.

Walking the floor in a Team Canada jersey flanked by LAB Business’ similarly dressed publisher, Chris Forbes, made the show worth it. An instant conversation starter if ever there was one and it was amazing to see the number of Canadians that came out of the Pittcon woodwork. It led to conversations with companies doing really interesting things so keep your eyes peeled. You might see something in this space soon.

Maybe I’m of the same opinion of the attendees I spoke with: It was quiet but I still got value out of it. Pittcon has changed over time and I guess change isn’t all bad, although sitting at the booth for hours on end, with not a soul walking past, I did wonder how far we are from the point where it’s just not worth it.

Shrinking Pittcon

canadian newS

6 march/april 2014 Lab buSineSS

reSearcherS are using fibres from fishing line and sewing thread to create inexpensive artificial muscles that could be used in medical devices,

humanoid robots, prosthetic limbs, or woven into fabrics.International researchers, including University of British Columbia Electrical and

Computer Engineering professor John Madden and PhD candidate Seyed Mohammad Mirvakili, detail how they created inexpensive artificial muscles that generate far more force and power than human or animal muscles of the same size.

“In terms of the strength and power of the artificial muscle, we found that it can quickly lift weights 100 times heavier than a same-sized human muscle can, in a single contraction,” says Madden. “It also has a higher power output for its weight than that of an automobile combustion engine.”

Madden and his colleagues used high-strength polymer fibres made from polyethylene and nylon, the common materials in fishing lines and sewing thread. The fibres were twisted into tight coils – like you would twist the rubber band of a model toy airplane – to create an artificial muscle that could contract and relax.

The artificial muscles contract and relax in response to changes in temperature, which can be controlled by an electrical heating element. This system was has been demonstrated by using such muscles to manipulate surgical forceps. The artificial muscles may also find use in robots and low cost devices that help those with impaired mobility, the researchers say.

ScienTiSTS creaTe PowerfuL arTificiaL muScLe wiTh fiShinG Line

kieffer receives women in Science award

The Scientific Director of the Douglas Mental Health

University Institute Research Centre, Professor Brigitte Kieffer, received the L’Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science Award in a ceremony to take place on March 19, in Paris. Kieffer was selected as the winner for Europe for her research at the Institut de genetique et de biologie moleculaire et cellulaire (IGBMC), in Strasbourg. Kieffer’s work has paved the way for a better understanding of the brain mechanisms involved in pain, mental illness and drug addiction.

Johns hopkins university Scientist to lead national lab

After a seven month search for TRIUMF’s next director, the

laboratory’s Board of Management settled on Dr. Jonathan Bagger, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor, Vice Provost, and former Interim Provost at the Johns Hopkins University. Bagger was attracted to TRIUMF because, “Its collaborative, interdisci-plinary model represents the future for much of science. TRIUMF helps Canada connect fundamental research to important societal goals, ranging from health and safety to edu-cation and innovation.”

brca gene mutation can also lead to Pancreatic cancer

Dr. Steven Gallinger, a surgical oncologist at the University

Health Network and cancer research-er at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital, has received a new Impact Grant to study the link between BRCA mutations and pancreatic cancer. About 4 per cent of people with pan-creatic cancer carry mutations in the BRCA gene, which is better known for its connection to breast cancer. This small subgroup of patients may respond to treatments where other patients do not. Gallinger’s research team is one of a handful in the world examining the connection between BRCA and pancreatic cancer.

worldwide newS


in the near future; an entire chemistry lab could be accommodated in a tiny little droplet. While simple reactions already work in these simplest models of an artificial cell now a

group of scientists of the Cluster of Excellence Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM) have established and investigated for the first time a complex biochemical system. They discovered a surprising diversity.

An almost infinite number of complex and interlinked reactions take place in a biological cell. In order to be able to better investigate these networks, scientists led by Professor Friedrich Simmel, Chair of Systems Biophysics and Nano Biophysics at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) try to replicate them with the necessary components in a kind of artificial cell. This is also motivated by the thought of one day using such single-cell systems for example as “nanofactories” for the production of complex organic substances or biomaterials.

All such experiments have so far predominantly worked with very simple reactions, however. NIM Professor Friedrich Simmel and his team have now for the first time managed to let a more complex biochemical reaction take place in tiny droplets of only a few micrometers in size.

Their experiments showed that the oscillations in the individual droplets differed strongly, that is to say, much stronger than might have been expected from a simple statistical model. It was above all evident that small drops display stronger variations than large ones. “It is indeed surprising that we could witness a similar variability and individuality in a comparatively simple chemical system as is known from biological cells”, explains Friedrich Simmel.

The ThouSanD-DroPLeTS TeST

discoveries could lead to artifical cells device

dangerous mistaken identity

international gene therapy consortium launches consortium

A University of California, Riverside assistant professor

of engineering is among a group of researchers that have made important discoveries regarding the behavior of a synthetic molecular oscillator, which could serve as a timekeeping device to control artificial cells. Elisa Franco, helped develop methods to screen thousands of copies of this oscillator using small droplets. They found, surprisingly, that the oscillators inside these small droplets behave in a very diverse way in terms of period, amplitude and phase.

Tau proteins, which are responsible for Alzheimer’s

disease, bind to the folding protein HSP90. The molecular recognition mechanisms that play a role here, have been unveiled by an international team of scientists led by the Technische Universität München (TUM) and the Helmholtz Zentrum München. This might open the door for new approaches for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. However, while dissolved tau proteins look more like long, stretched chains, HSP90 binds predominantly proteins that have already been prefolded.

The International Gene Therapy Consortium (IGTC),

which is comprised of leading scientists and researchers from more than 50 locations worldwide, has created a website www.internationalconsortiumofgene therapy.com where patients can interact with scientists from the organization. An online course on gene therapy was created to facilitate the teaching of this discipline to students in science and medicine. Patients can also ask questions about various genetic diseases. There is also a virtual meeting place and a forum for discussion on their diseases.

Suzuki matterS


because nature doesn’t always behave the same in a lab, test tube or computer program as it does in the real world, scientists and

engineers have come up with ideas that didn’t turn out as expected.

DDT was considered a panacea for a range of insect pest issues, from controlling disease to help-ing farmers. But we didn’t understand bioaccumu-lation back then – toxins concentrating up the food chain, risking the health and survival of animals from birds to humans. Chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, seemed so terrific we put them in everything from aerosol cans to refrigerators. Then we learned they damage the ozone layer, which protects us from harmful solar radiation.

These unintended consequences come partly from our tendency to view things in isolation, with-out understanding how all nature is interconnect-ed. We’re now facing the most serious unintended consequence ever: climate change from burning fossil fuels. Some proposed solutions may also result in unforeseen outcomes.

Oil, gas and coal are miraculous substances –energy absorbed from the sun by plants and ani-mals hundreds of millions of years ago, retained after they died and concentrated as the decaying life became buried deeper into the earth. Burning them to harness and release this energy opened up possibilities unimaginable to our ancestors. We could create machines and technologies to reduce our toil, heat and light our homes, build modern cit-ies for growing populations and provide accessible transport for greater mobility and freedom. And because the stuff seemed so plentiful and easy to obtain, we could build vehicles and roads for every-one – big cars that used lots of gas – so that enor-mous profits would fuel prosperous, consumer-driven societies.

We knew fairly early that pollution affected

we can’t just geo-engineer our way out of climate change

human health, but that didn’t seem insurmount-able. We just needed to improve fuel efficiency and create better pollution-control standards. That reduced rather than eliminated the problem and only partly addressed an issue that appears to have caught us off-guard: the limited availability of these fuels. But the trade-offs seemed worthwhile.

Then, for the past few decades, a catastrophic consequence of our profligate use of fossil fuels has loomed. Burning them has released excessive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, creating a thick, heat-trapping blanket. Along with our destruction of natural carbon-storing environ-ments, such as forests and wetlands, this has steadily increased global average temperatures, causing climate change.

We’re now faced with ever-increasing extreme weather-related events and phenomena such as ocean acidification, which affects myriad marine life, from shellfish to corals to plankton. The latter produce oxygen and are at the very foundation of the food chain.

Had we addressed the problem from the outset, we could have solutions in place. We could have found ways to burn less fossil fuel without mas-sively disrupting our economies and ways of life. But we’ve become addicted to the lavish benefits that fossil fuels have offered, and the wealth and power they’ve provided to industrialists and gov-ernments. And so there’s been a concerted effort to stall or avoid corrective action, with industry pay-ing front groups, “experts” and governments to deny or downplay the problem.

Now that climate change has become undeni-able, with consequences getting worse daily, many experts are eyeing solutions. Some are touting mas-sive technological fixes, such as dumping large amounts of iron filings into the seas to facilitate carbon absorption, pumping nutrient-rich cold waters from the ocean depths to the surface, build-ing giant reflectors to bounce sunlight back into space and irrigating vast deserts.

But we’re still running up against those pesky unintended consequences. Scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany, studied five geoengineering schemes and concluded they’re “either relatively ineffective with limited warming reductions, or they have potentially severe side effects and cannot be stopped without causing rapid climate change.” That’s partly because we don’t fully understand climate and weather systems and their interac-tions.

That doesn’t mean we should rule out geoengi-neering. Climate change is so serious that we’ll need to marshal everything we have to confront it, and some methods appear to be more benign than others. But geoengineering isn’t the solution. And it’s no excuse to go on wastefully burning fossil fuels. We must conserve energy and find ways to quickly shift to cleaner sources. l b

by DaviD Suzuki wiTh conTribuTionS from

ian haninGTon

Dr. David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author, and co-founder

of the David Suzuki Foundation.

Ian Hanington is Senior Editor.

Learn more at www.davidsuzuki.org.

CA

N.9

702.

A1.

1014

.B-L

BU ©

201

4 M

etro

hm U

SA, I

nc.

Systems, Support & Service, Oh My!For your analytical testing needs, there’s no place like Metrohm.

Manual and Automated Systems for:

• Titration

• Ion Chromatography

• Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

• Electrochemistry

• Voltammetry

• Process Analytics

• Complete line of accessories & reagents

Local expert applications support & service too!

Call us toll-free: 866-METROHMwww.metrohmca.com


STORY BY Nicolas Heffernan

DeSPiTe DwinDLinG aTTenDance, aTTenDeeS STiLL finD vaLue in PiTTcon

T he numbers say Pittcon is declining in popularity but that seems to suit confer-ence goers just fine.

This year’s Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy drew just over 16,000 attendees, down from the more than 18,000 who came last year. There were 935 exhibitors, 119 there for the first time, from 32 countries occupying 1,763 booths, compared to last year when 167 out of 1,011 exhibited for the first time, from 28 countries in 1,925 booths.

Attendees in Chicago noticed traffic was down but maintain the show still has value. “This year this show has not been attended by as many regional people as normal but for me as a manufacturer’s rep it’s been great because I’ve done a lot of business to busi-ness,” says Gary Sunday of Sun Analytical Instruments from Venetia, Pa. “I could never see 50 customers and look at 20 principles in a week’s time. It would cost me a lot more money and a lot more time. So I still value it a lot as a show.”

Sunday has been attending the show for over 30 years and has seen firsthand how the show has changed. “In the 80s as a manufacturer’s rep I used to get 300 or 400 leads out of this show, now I get 20 or 30 but I’ve used the time to do other things, to network, and I think this is a wonderful networking show and I hope it continues and succeeds.”

Sunday says Pittcon’s decline is part of a wider trend of trade shows around the world as companies are marketing differently; using a combination of internet, press and direct mail. “The shows aren’t used as much as they used to be,” says Sunday. “It’s a weaker show but all shows across the country are weaker now – I don’t care if it’s a food show, a pharma show – even in Europe as well, the big European shows, there’s dwin-dling attendance.”

This year’s attendees included lab managers, scientists, chemists, researchers and professors, from industrial, academic, and government labs. They represent a broad number of scientific disciplines including life science, food science, drug discovery, environmental, forensics, nanotechnology, water/wastewater, energy/fuel, agriculture and bioterrorism. “So what we’re finding is it’s mainly managers that come to the show and in some ways that narrows it down to the buyer, but in other ways it limits what I can do,” Sunday says.

The changing profile of Pittcon attendees is not surprising considering the cuts busi-nesses have made because of the economy. “Companies are not allowing their workers to take enough days off to travel these shows,” Sunday says. “It’s not just a money thing.

Pittcon,you’ve changed

The numbers may be declining but those who attended said the show still has value.


Pittcon

Chemistry staffs have been cut over the years and they cannot spend the time away from the lab.”

Despite concerns over attendance, the rest of the world was still represented on the tradeshow floor. Just over 25 per cent of attendees came from outside the United States, with the highest being Canada, followed by China, United Kingdom, Japan, Mexico, and Brazil.

Sylvain Letarte, President of Phytronix Instruments in Boisbriand, Que., has noticed the attendance trends after attending the show for the last six years. “It’s small compared to other years, that’s for sure,” he says. “It’s not very crowded but Pittcon is more of a busi-ness–to–business kind of a show. [It’s still of use] because it’s a place to talk to distributors. Because you don’t see end users a lot, typically none of them, it’s still very important because we deal with our companies and that’s the reason why we’re coming.”

Despite the smaller numbers Letarte says small companies like Phytronix can’t pass up on the opportunities Pittcon still offers. “In our case, we cannot avoid Pittcon. It’s still a good show for business relations. That’s why we’re here.”

With decreasing turnout at Pittcon, making the conference shorter seems to

MottLab.indd 1 8/16/10 4:11 PM

Pittcon


This year’s aTTendees incLuDeD Lab manaGerS, ScienTiSTS,

chemiSTS, reSearcherS anD

ProfeSSorS, from inDuSTriaL,

acaDemic, anD GovernmenT LabS.

pittcon by The numberS

2014

2013

16,200 attendees

more than 18,000 attendees

36% first-timers

40% first-timers

935 exhibitors

1,011 exhibitors

32 countries

28 countries

1,763 booths

1,925 booths

119 first time exhibitors

167 first time exhibitors

2,000 technical sessions

2,000 technical sessions

73 symposia

78 symposia

10 awards

12 awards

84 oral sessions

93 oral sessions

4 workshops

12 workshops

51 posters

62 posters

31 conferee networking sessions

42 conferee networking sessions

116 short courses

1,400 short courseparticipants

hold some appeal. “I definitely feel that there are some lulls in traffic and may not want to do four days, maybe convert it into three,” says Jessica Dunn, Sales and Marketing Manager of Photon Control in Burnaby, B.C., who was at her third show.

As the years go on, there seems to be fewer leads available at Pittcon, but it continues to offer a chance for small, medium and large-sized companies alike to increase their brand presence. “It’s been good show for us,” says Dunn. “A lot of our competitors are here so it’s been good for our brand presence. I find there are a lot of the same customers coming to this show as the other shows we attend. You have to make sure you’re always top of mind to them so I think it’s imperative that we do come.” l b


STORY BY Lindsay Grummett

every b r e a t h you take

a near-DeaTh exPerience brinGS LAB Business wriTer To The fireSTone inSTiTuTe for reSPiraTory heaLTh

lab Profile


b reathe in and out, in and out. You do it thousands of times per day with absolutely no thought, but the

complexity behind the action is truly astonishing.

It starts when you inhale through your mouth or nose. The mucus membranes trap foreign particles like dust and dirt before the air travels through the throat and into the trachea. The trachea divides into bronchial tubes which branch out into small, narrowing tendrils. At the end of these passages are approximately 300 million alveoli, little balloon-like air sacs, encased in a mesh of blood vessels. It is here, in the deep recesses of your insides, that the oxygen passes through the alveo-li wall, into the blood and moves on to nourish your body.

This involuntary action happens day after day, month after month, year after year. So often, in fact, that we tend to deny our breath even a moment’s thought – until it stops working.

DyinG To runI thought I was going to die. No, I knew I was going to die. My dad was speeding across town to Cambridge Memorial Hospital with me in the passenger seat, but I could feel my throat closing and I didn’t have much time. I told him I loved him and to tell my mom the same. I scratched my hives with fat fingers. I couldn’t see because my eyes were swol-len shut, but my mind was racing: what the hell is happening to me?

When we arrived at the hospital, my airway was constricted to less than half its normal size. The triage nurse immedi-ately rushed me into the emergency wing and within minutes I was strapped up to heart monitors, an oxygen mask and injected with epinephrine. The next five hours were spent under observation as my face, fingers and throat returned to their original shapes.

The doctors told me it was anaphy-laxis, a serious allergic reaction with rapid onset and a whole host of symp-toms including hives, swelling, shock, and constricting of the throat, among other things. And while they were able to diagnose the problem, they were unable to pinpoint the cause. We discussed my medical history and known allergies, but they offerd no insight. Since the doctors

were in the dark about the source of my ailment, they referred me to the Adverse Reactions Clinic at the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health in Hamilton, Ont., where I met with Dr. Joseph Greenbaum.

“What were you doing the moment it physically started,” Dr. Greenbaum asked me.

“I was out for a run,” I replied. “What did you eat before you ran?”“Strawberries.”“That’s it? No bread?”“That’s it. No bread.” The question and answer period went

on for about 15 minutes before Dr. Greenbaum was ready to give me my assessment. “It looks like you have exer-cise-induced anaphylaxis,” he said. “This isn’t a uniform thing and you won’t know how much heat you’ll have to generate before it starts to happen.”

“Wait, what? I’m allergic to exercise? I run every day,” I said.

But my protest had no weight with Dr. Greenbaum who continued to describe the condition and other factors that could influence a reaction. “In some cases, a reaction will depend on what you ate and in some cases, how much you ate. Then you have to mix that in with the degree of activity, the temperature out-side, whether you took an anti-inflam-matory and do you have a virus,” he explains. “The only test is what actually happens to you through trial and error.”

Since I was unwilling to stop running, we discussed strategies to mitigate a potential reaction and I was given a pre-scription for an EpiPen, a disposable injection device that administers epi-nephrine, to carry with me on my runs. Dr. Greenbaum also explained that the average allergy doctor assesses approxi-mately one patient with exercise-induced anaphylaxis per month.

“This isn’t unique,” he says. “It may seem strange, and to the average person, it may be interesting, but medically, it isn’t.”

And, with that, I became the official owner of an uninteresting breathing dis-order. While walking to the exit in abso-lute disbelief, I saw patients rushing through the halls and wondered what kind of respiratory issue brought them to Firestone, but even more so, I wondered


what happened beyond the waiting room and outside the patient wings. What other types of work do they do here and what other kinds of patients are they helping? I decided to do some research of my own.

reSPiraTory reSearch aT firhThe Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health (FIRH) is a respiratory care facil-ity located at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. FIRH has a unique chest pro-gram that includes the full spectrum of respiratory medicine as well as affiliated head-and-neck and thoracic surgery ser-vices. The institute is supported by a state-of-the-art pulmonary function lab and a sleep laboratory as well as a variety of other specialized laboratories. Firestone Research Aerosol Laboratory and the Freddy Hargreave Sputum Laboratory are two unique labs that sup-port the clinical practice through innova-tive research and discovery.

fireSTone reSearch aeroSoL LaboraTory The Firestone Research Aerosol Laboratory is just one vertebra that makes up the backbone of FIRH. The lab was established at St Joseph’s by Professor Myrna Dolovich. “The focus is to look at medical inhalers prescribed for patients with respiratory disease,” she says. “We characterize inhalers in terms of the amount of drug delivered to the lung, the aerosol size distribution and to see whether the delivery system provides a sufficient, safe and efficacious therapy.”

That’s an oversimplification of the work that goes on within the walls of the aerosol laboratory because in this small and unassuming space, Dolovich is researching ways to help people breathe better.

“Drugs are inhaled by patients with respiratory diseases,” says Dolovich, “A big question that has taken up a lot of research space by a number of investiga-tors in North America and Europe is where the particles deposit in the lungs and can this delivery be influenced by the design of the inhaler.”

Having spent her early career at The

Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal imaging lungs in the cardiorespi-ratory medicine depart-ment, Dolovich was fas-cinated by the question and became determined to find an answer. Using an imaging technique called positron emission tomography (PET), Dolovich was able to develop 3-D pictures of the lungs and bronchial tree. PET imaging uses tracers, radioactive material that offers information about the internal organs, which are typically injected into the blood stream. Dolovich modified the test by using an inhaled, liquid tracer, which was a method that had not been attempted at that time with PET. “When you look at the lung in three dimensions, you can actually see the [drug] distribution,” s h e e x p l a i n s. “Tomography allows us to slice the lung and see inside.”

As often happens, one research question leads to another and Dolovich now ponders whether inhalers can be modified to deliver the drugs to a specific location of the lung. “Some diseases affect struc-tures more centrally in the lung and some more peripheral lung,” she says. “So, if you can target the areas of disease, then you might have a better chance of suc-cess with your therapy.”

But due to budget and time con-straints, this question has been put aside for more pressing issues like the develop-ment of a new delivery system for a tuberculosis (TB) vaccine. “The vaccine is being delivered by aerosol and there are several aspects to consider when looking at performance,” explains Dolovich. “One is output and another is particle size distribution.”

Dolovich has participants simulate

how they’d use the inhaler to learn more about patient intervention on drug deliv-ery. The TB vaccine is one of the labora-tory’s ongoing projects, and she expects

it to move into clinical trials in the near future.

Dolovich’s work in medical aerosol research over the last 40 years has made her a leader in the development and char-acterization of new aerosol devices. She’s a member of the Health Canada Scientific Advisory Committee – Respiratory and Allergy Therapies and in 2009 she received the Career Achievement Award from the International Society of Aerosols in Medicine (ISAM). Although each of the Firestone laboratories has individual research goals, they also work in collective accord to further respirato-ry research. One laboratory that’s bene-fitted from Dolovich’s aerosol interest is the Freddy Hargreave Sputum Laboratory.

if you can TargeT The areas of disease, Then you miGhT have a beTTer chance

of SucceSS wiTh your TheraPy.

Lab technologists analyse approximately 60 sputum samples per weekDr. Nair (left) and colleagues in the sputum lab

lab Profile

freDDy harGreave SPuTum LaboraTory “In every part of the world, including Canada, airway diseases like asthma, COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease], chronic cough, are all treated the same way based on the same guide-lines,” says Dr. Parameswaran Nair, FIRH respirologist and Canada Research Chair in Airway Inflammometry.

But approximately 25 years ago, Dr. Frederick Hargreave, an esteemed researcher in respiratory medicine and Nair’s mentor, decided that a new approach was necessary. Hargreave, alongside the late Professor Jerry Dolovich (Professor Myrna Dolovich’s husband), spent the next 10 years researching and developing a method to analyse patients’ sputum. They believed that a method to measure bronchitis was necessary to better treat airway diseases than simply basing decisions on symp-toms and airflow.

“Just as you get a total and differen-tial cell count in blood, they developed a method to do total and differential cell counts in sputum,” says Nair.

Through these research develop-ments, the sputum lab was born. Sputum is the thick mucus that develops deep in

the lungs. Most patients are able to pro-duce and expel sputum naturally by coughing, but people who are unable to do this can have their sputum induced.

“We induce sputum by making them inhale concentrated saltwater,” says Nair. “We start with three per cent salt-water, if that doesn’t work we give them four per cent and then move on to five per cent if that fails.” Dr. Myrna Dolovich performed a number of studies to review the efficacy of this method which is now considered the gold standard to measure bronchitis. The Canadian Thoracic Society’s updated asthma guidelines recommend this method to optimize the treatment of severe asthma that does not respond to the usual treatments.

When patients enter Firestone with symptoms of an airway disease, doctors begin by testing three things.

“We measure spirometry, to know the narrowing of the airways, we do a metha-choline test to measure the twitchiness of the airways and then we do a cell count in sputum to measure bronchitis,” he explains.

Before the sputum sample can be analysed, it must be broken down with a mucolytic due to the thickness. Then the sample is put through a cytocentrifuge and one of three lab technologists

Lab technologists analyse approximately 60 sputum samples per week

aTTenDinG aeroSoL SchooL aT fireSTone reSearch aeroSoL LaboraTory

Students of Professor myra Dolovich are a diverse bunch. “They come from indus-try, they come from regulatory, and they come from universities involved in aerosol research,” she explains, “This past year i had two people from brazil, one from argentina and one from Sweden with the balance being from, of course, north america.”

and while many of them travel here for different reasons, they have come for the same thing: a crash course in aerosol.

The aerosol School is a three-day program designed to provide scientists, technicians and students the knowledge to quantify and characterize medical aerosols. The school includes hands-on laboratories and lectures presented by aerosol scientists, engineers and clinicians who cover everything from quality control to tracers to factors affecting in vitro mea-surements of aerosol properties.

Last year, Dolovich hosted a device workshop where she introduced students to the variety of aerosol delivery systems available on the market. “They’re able to look at them, hold them, see them, which is very important,” she says.

once the three-day course is com-plete, participants should understand measurements and techniques used in both commercial pharmaceutical and bio-tech laboratories as well as in academic research. The annual aerosol School will open its doors to students this year from october 8 to 10 and space is limited to 20 people.

Those who are interested in learning more can contact myrna Dolovich at [email protected].

The Aerosol School students of 2012



manually counts the cells. Lab techs will typically analyse 60 samples per week.

“We count the total cells, the number of eosinophils and noneosinophils, the number of lymphocytes, just as one would do in blood,” Nair says. If the air-way inflammation is eosinophilic, it will respond to steroid intervention, but with noneosinophilic airway inflammation, it typically will not. The information is then transferred to a form similar to a blood report which allows the Firestone doctor to determine an appropriate treatment. St Joseph’s Hospital is one of the very few centres in the world where this test is available as a routine clinical test for patients.

“After collecting sputum, if a patient’s sputum eosinophil counts are complete-ly normal, I would not give them steroids even if they have asthma,” says Nair. “On the other hand, if their eosinophils are high, I would use that to guide the dose of steroids and keep increasing the dose until the eosinophils are normal. If patients require very high doses of ste-roids to control their eosinophils, this test helps to identify patients who may benefit from new therapies.” The Firestone research group were among the first to demonstrate the efficacy of

this strategy in a clinical trial that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2009.

Distinguishing between steroid responsive and non-responsive airway diseases takes the guesswork out of drug intervention and Nair says that Canada-wide sputum testing would lower health-care costs.

“It’s less expensive because you’re giving the patient what they need rather than over or under treating them.”

Despite the evidence that this treat-ment method provides better outcomes, the practice is not widely disseminated due to perceived difficulties like the lack of remuneration codes in hospitals and the need for a laboratory to process the samples.

Nair has been run-ning the sputum lab for three years and continues to promote and build on the ideas of Freddy Hargreave who passed away in 2011.

“At the moment, we’re developing a paper dip stick. Rather than having a labora-

tory-based test, we would have a simple paper-based assay as a point-of-care test,” explains Nair. The test uses eosin-ophil-specific and noneosinophil-spe-cific proteins. It’s similar to a pregnancy test and would revolutionize treatment of respiratory diseases, especially in developing countries like India where Nair grew up.

Nair’s trained a handful of post docs from India who have returned to the country and have set up laboratories. The simplicity of a paper test would make sputum testing more accessible to a wider patient base.

“Our research is there to support enhanced patient care and it’s very grati-fying to see it directly benefitting patients.” l b

fireSTone reSearch aeroSoL LaboraTory anD The

freDDy harGreave SPuTum LaboraTory are

Two unique labs ThaT SuPPorT The

cLinicaL PracTice ThrouGh innovaTive research and discovery.

More than an event

like Dolly was more than a sheep

Valuable education, partnering, global networking, exhibits and entertainment makes BIO 2014 much more than an event. The BIO International Convention regularly attracts 15,000 of the most powerful biotech and pharma players from 60+ countries, and every year we work to improve the experience. This year is no exception, with more networking, insight and opportunities delivering value to you and your business long after the event ends. Join us in San Diego and discover where BIO 2014 can take you.

Register now. Early bird discount ends May 1.convention.bio.org #BIO2014

BIO14_ad_SHEEP_BB_LAB.indd 1 4/4/14 8:46 AM


connecT wiTh confiDence uSinG bioPure fLuiD PaTh comPonenTS

BioPure designs, manufactures and supplies single-use end user and OEM bioprocessing components. The offering includes hose tail to tri-clamp adaptors, plastic tri-clamps, end caps for connectors, equal barbed Y connectors and variable flow control valves. Manufactured and packed in an ISO Class 7 clean room, BioPure components have lot numbers molded in for full traceability; with full through bore diameter these components are designed to reduce dead spots. BioPure Technology can help simplify your production operations, lower cGMP biopharmaceutical marketing costs and reduce process validation.www.biopuretech.com

lab wareSmarT caPS ProTecT Lab PerSoneL

JM Science Smart Caps technology protects the health of laboratory personnel when using waste solvents. They are made of inert materials resistant to chemicals such as PTFE and PP. The use of a one-way check valve allows for low cost safe and secure solvent extraction in the laboratory. The Smart Waste Caps provide a reduction of 95% harmful substances, such as vapors or gases leaking from waste solvent jerricans, due to the use of a filtering cartridge of activated charcoal. When using the Smart Healthy Caps, there will be no solvent evaporation, no mobile phase external contamination and it will keep the concentration accurate for several days.www.jmscience.com

hiGh PreSSure chemicaL reacTorS

Supercritical Fluid Technologies’ line of stirred reactors for high pressure chemistry have been designed for researchers interested in performing pressurized chemical reactions in their laboratories. These reactors are ideal for a range of lab and research scale applications including, but not limited to, high pressure chemical synthesis and process development. The reactors range in size from 50 milliliters to 4 liters and may be operated up to 10,000 psi and 350C. Each reactor has a built in mixer with a magnetically coupled impeller for optimal combining conditions. All high pressure components are ASME rated, and protected by software “high alarms” and a rupture disc for safe operation. www.supercriticalfluids.com

unifLow fume hooD caTaLoGue

HEMCO Corporation new UniFlow Fume Hood catalogue features “SE”, “LE”, and “CE” series of fume hoods, along with a wide selection of specialty fume hoods. These models are constructed of molded chemical resistant, flame retardant, non-metallic composite resin and range in size from 30” to 96” and include air bypass, conventional or auxiliary air styles. Cabinets, work surfaces, ventilation, and accessories are offered to meet specific requirements. Emergency safety/decontamination shower booths and safety equipment along with lab furniture groupings are detailed to layout and equip your laboratory. www.hemcocorp.com

LIST OF ADVERTISERS & WEBSITES

HAnnA InSTRumEnTS CAnADA InCPage 2 ............................... www.hannacan.com

EPPEnDORFPage 4 ..................www.eppendorf.ca/detection

mETROHm CAnADAPage 9 ............................ www.metrohmca.com

mOTTLAB InCPage 12 .................................www.mottlab.com

CALEDOn LABORATORIES LTDPage 18 ..........................www.caledonlabs.com

2014 BIO InTERnATIOnAL COnVEnTIOnPage 19 ....................... www.convention.bio.org

THERmCRAFT InCORPORATED .......................www.thermcraftinc.com

VWRPage 24 ........................................www.vwr.com

SmaLL animaL TreaDmiLLS

Coulbourn Instruments has introduced a line of high performance small animal treadmills. These units are ideal for forced exercise training and muscle fatigue studies in rodents. Unique benefits of these treadmills include: reduced stress to subjects and smooth operation with the high performance, silent motor, even at high speeds; more rapid animal training with integrated shock grid which delivers constant shock despite the number contacts, ensuring minimal discomfort while promoting training; flexibility for experimental protocols with the widest speed range available, 5 to 150 cm/sec and both positive and negative incline capabilities; can be adjusted manually on the control unit or through the optional software as preferred by the user; minimal maintenance and easy to clean. www.coulbourn.com

zinc foam wiTh coST-SavinG feaTure

Goodfellow has announced the availability of two variants of zinc foam: 99.99% zinc deposited on a polyurethane foam and ZAMAK 410 Zn /Al4/Cu1/Mg0.04 zinc alloy foam with solid ligaments. Both combine the versatile properties of zinc or its alloy with the functional benefits of a foam. This combination is expected to be of particular interest to design engineers working in the fields of heat exchangers, catalyst substrates, energy absorbers, filters and mixers. The matrix of cells and ligaments in the foams is completely repeatable, regular and uniform throughout the material, yielding a rigid, highly porous and permeable structure with a controlled density of metal per unit volume. www.goodfellow.com/E/Foam.html

Laboratory Furnaces & Ovens• Horozontal & Vertical Tube Furnaces,

Single and Multi-Zone

• Box Furnaces & Ovens

• Temperatures up to 1700°C

• Made in the U.S.A.

• Available withinTwo Weeks

SmartControl Touch Screen Control System

www.thermcraftinc.com • [email protected] +1.336.784.4800

tech watch


bringing Push-button mass detection to chromatography

Waters ACQUITY QDa Detector is the first mass detector to bring high-quality, mass spectral data to chromatographic separations. The detector addresses the barriers of complexity, size and cost that have hindered the adoption of mass spectrometry for everyday use. With the on/off simplicity the ACQUITY QDa Detector fully automates sample analysis and eliminates sample-specific adjustments for certainty in sample results, from user to user and system to system. The ACQUITY QDa Detector generates the high quality mass spectral data expected of a single quadrupole mass spectrometer in a mass detector no bigger than a familiar photodiode array (PDA) detector. www.waters.com

Shiseido hPlc columns for Protein Separation

Chromatographic separations of proteins are based on their difference either in size (size exclusion chromatography), electric charges (ion exchange chromatography), or hydrophobicity (reversed-phase chromatography). JM Science’s Shiseido HPLC CAPCELL PAK Columns come with the developed Proteonavi to separate proteins and peptides in reversed phase mode. In reversed-phase mode, it is known that proteins and peptides with higher-order structure are denatured to some extent in the course of being retained on the stationary phase after introduction to the column. Once the retention with denaturation is occurred, molecules will not migrate until the organic content of the mobile phase is raised to an appropriate level under a gradient program. Proteonavi utilizes high-purity silica with few metal impurities, and shows minimal irreversible adsorption for proteins and peptides. www.jmscience.com

miniPdd helium ionization detector

VICI’s newest member of the Pulsed Discharge Detector (PDD) family is also the smallest and thriftiest. The miniPDD for gas chromatographic systems uses about one-fifth the amount of helium as the VICI Valco D-3 and D-4 versions, giving up only a bit of sensitivity and dynamic range in return. It is approximately one-half the size of the D-4, but has nearly the same sensitivity — about 100 ppb for fixed gases. With its reduced size, weight, and helium consumption, it is particularly well suited to portable applications, or to any situation in which the high cost of helium becomes a consideration.www.vici.com

chromatography


moments in time

the birth of galileo galilei

In early February we celebrated the 450th anniversary of the birth of the father of modern science, Galileo Galilei. Galileo was a pivotal figure in the development of modern astronomy. He provided a number of scientific insights that paved the foundation for many future scientists, having supplied the vital observations that proved the Copernican hypothesis and set the fundamentals for a correct understanding of how objects moved on the surface of the earth and gravity. His inventions, including the geometric compass and efforts to improve telescopes, revolutionized astronomy and helped further the understanding of the world and universe around him. Galileo’s predilection for inventive experimentation pushed the scientific community toward its modern form. l b

STORY BY Ammi Parmar

VWR Chemicals:Your Choice. Your Solution.

VWR chemicals are suitable for a multitude of analytical and production applications.

Tried. Tested. True.

Research and Development Applications:• Acids• Analytical reagents• Buffers• Fine chemical salts• Solutions• Solvents• Standards…and more

Production Applications:• ACS grade chemicals• Biological buffers• Excipients• Fine chemicals• High purity solvents• Inorganic salts• Regulated chemicals…and more

Chemical Related Services:

• Custom blends and/or packaging• Change notice verification

• Instant trackability• Sourcing• Storage• Testing

VWR o�ers thousands of chemicals from our key brands.

Contact your local VWR sales representative or call 800.932.5000 to learn more about how VWR can help you �nd complete solutions for all of your chemical needs.

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

labbusiness_4_4_2014_VWR.pdf 1 2014-04-04 10:22 AM

Despite a smaller Galileo, the father crowd attendees ... · of interest to you. if you’d rather...

Documents

Transcript of Despite a smaller Galileo, the father crowd attendees ... · of interest to you. if you’d rather...