Canyon Labs’ Post

Last week, once again I had the privilege of attending and giving a talk at the 31st Symposium on Glycosaminoglycans at Villa Vigoni, overlooking the beautiful Lake Como - an event that has almost become an annual tradition. As always, the conference brought together international experts from academia, industry and regulatory bodies to discuss current and emerging topics in chemistry, biochemistry, biology, pharmacology, regulatory affairs, and the clinical applications of heparin and other glycosaminoglycans. My talk focused on a simple yet elegant cell-based assay we developed (Taran Kandola), which enables relatively high-throughput testing of the anti-inflammatory properties of heparin-related molecules. In particular, we examined samples - fully characterised by Antonella Bisio's team - derived from byproducts of pharmaceutical heparin production. Our findings show that these byproducts possess potential anti-inflammatory properties, warranting further research to develop new therapeutics. Additionally, since heparin production starts with the food industry, repurposing these materials aligns well with circular economy principles because more 'waste' can be converted into high-value products, thereby promoting more sustainable use of natural resources. My group further contributed to the discussions with a poster (Lucy Naughton) on heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), a potentially lethal immune-mediated adverse reaction to heparin. Unlike most studies that rely on artificially generated heparin molecules, we isolated and fully characterised more structurally defined heparin chains - natural components of pharmaceutical-grade heparin - allowing us to explore the structure-to-function relationships between heparin, platelet factor 4, and HIT antibodies. I would like to sincerely thank Antonella Bisio and Guerrini Marco of the Istituto G. Ronzoni for organising such an excellent event. I am already looking forward to next year’s symposium.

📢 Excited to share my latest research! 📢 My research work has been published online in the Fish Physiology and Biochemistry journal. Publication Title: "Textile azo dye, Sudan Black B, inducing hepatotoxicity demonstrated in in vivo zebrafish larval model" Key Highlights: Environmental Impact: Textile dye effluent containing toxic compounds harms aquatic life. Metabolic Disruption: Sudan Black B (SBB) disrupts lipid metabolism and gluconeogenesis in zebrafish larvae. Immune Response: SBB alters the expression of key immune markers, including TNF-α, IL-10, and INOS, in zebrafish larvae. Toxicological Findings: SBB dye induces hepatotoxicity in zebrafish larvae. This research underscores the urgent need for stricter regulations on textile dye effluents to protect aquatic ecosystems. 🙏 Special thanks to my boss, Prof. Jesu Lab (Toxicology and Pharmacology Laboratory), and Dr. Ajay guru for their unwavering support throughout this project. #Research #Toxicology #EnvironmentalScience #ZebrafishModel #TextileDyes #AquaticToxicology #ScientificPublication

I am pleased to share that my membership for American Society of Microbiology is renewed for 2024. American Society of Microbiology provides a global platform for microbiology professionals and students to connect together. It provides an amazing reach to international research and generals. #microbiology #asm #AmericanSocietyofMicrobiology #foodandbeverage #industry #Pharmaceuticalmicrobiology

This Flow Friday is dedicated to all the Microbiologists out there! Follow the link below to claim your free handbook of #FlowCytometry in #Microbiology! This handbook is a practical guide to techniques and protocols for: • Challenges of culture-based methods • Advancements in Flow Cytometry • Common applications in Microbiology Contact me if you have additional questions or want additional support for your lab! (Note: this handbook was not written on a typewriter, happy #TTPD day to all my fellow Swifties🎵 )

On this day in science Sir Alexander Fleming FRS discovered penicillin when he recorded a bacteria-killing mold growing in his lab. "When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionize all medicine by discovering the world's first antibiotic, or bacteria killer. But I suppose that was exactly what I did.” Upon returning from holiday on September 28th 1928, Fleming began to sort through petri dishes containing colonies of Staphylococcus, bacteria that cause boils, sore throats and abscesses. He noticed something unusual on one dish. It was dotted with colonies, save for one area where a blob of mold was growing. The zone immediately around the mold—later identified as a rare strain of Penicillium notatum—was clear, as if the mold had secreted something that inhibited bacterial growth. Fleming found that his "mold juice" was capable of killing a wide range of harmful bacteria. Fleming published his findings in the British Journal of Experimental Pathology in June 1929, with only a passing reference to penicillin's potential therapeutic benefits. It was Howard Florey, Ernst Chain and their colleagues at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at Oxford University who turned penicillin from a laboratory curiosity into a life-saving drug. Their work on the purification and chemistry of penicillin began in earnest in 1939, just when wartime conditions were beginning to make research especially difficult. On February 12, 1941, a 43-year old policeman, Albert Alexander, became the first recipient of the Oxford penicillin. He had scratched the side of his mouth while pruning roses, and had developed a life-threatening infection. Penicillin was injected and within days he made a remarkable recovery. But supplies of the drug ran out and he died a few days later. A number of British companies, including Glaxo (now GlaxoSmithKline) and Kemball Bishop, a London firm later bought by Pfizer, took up the challenge. #science #biotech #biopharmaceuticals #pharmaceutical #biopharma #scienceandtechnology #pencilline #antibioticresistance #antibiotics #chemistry #medicalsciences #pfizerproud #sepsis #infection #bacteria #Fleming

Source: Journal of pharmaceutical analysis This paper discusses the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in metabolic studies focusing on pathogenic bacteria. Monitoring these VOCs in biological matrices can help diagnose infections and guide targeted therapy. The paper reviews modern analytical techniques for identifying and quantifying microbial VOCs, as well as microextraction techniques for preparing samples. It also discusses offline and online analysis in clinical settings and current clinical studies on bacterial volatilomes.

🔸The Gram stain method is one of the most commonly used techniques to quickly diagnose bacterial infections. The name comes from the Danish bacteriologist Hans Christian Gram, who developed the technique in 1884. #Microbiology #CultureMedia #LaboratoryScience #SelectiveMedia #DifferentialMedia #ResearchAndDevelopment #PharmaceuticalIndustry #Clinical #QualityControl #Scientific #MicrobialStudies #Biotechnology

Tired of the limitations in traditional microbial analysis methods? Learn how MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry simplifies and accelerates the identification process, offering a reliable and scalable solution for your quality control needs. Step into the future of microbiology: https://okt.to/YNCetJ #malditof #sequencing #microbiology

Protein degraders (PROTACs; 10.1038/d43747-022-00173-8), or the story on "how to deviate from mainstream drug discovery and development". An interesting blog post by Derek Lowe on daring the think outside the box, but likely being killed as an idea before even attempted. I wonder how we as decision makers are looking at this? How do we balance risk versus benefit? In an interesting article in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery by McKinsey recently (10.1038/d41573-023-00063-3) the so-called "Herd behavior" for drug discovery and development in oncology was discussed. While the dialogue that Derek presents after his time travel seems funny, all of us will recognize this instantly as being quite realistic. A crazy, yet testable hypothesis being squashed. This is yet another one of these examples when looking at new potential drug modalities or targets, how to give them a leeway? What do you think, Alex Zhavoronkov? Would we find better ways to de-risk these early ideas and just go for it? In the end the proof is in eating the pudding, clinical benefit will have to be demonstrated...but given the productivity crisis something to be concerned about.