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Microfluidic Sanger Sequencing Technologies

Sanger sequencing involves sequencing DNA by first copying single-stranded DNA by adding nucleotides to the chain. Each DNA fragment is terminated by the incorporation of a fluorescently labeled deoxynucleotide.

11 Sep 2017

Future DNA Sequencing Techniques

DNA sequencing has undergone radical advances since the first Sanger sequencing method was introduced in 1977.

11 Sep 2017

Illumina Sequencing

Next generation sequencing technologies were developed to improve on the speed and efficiency of shotgun-style Sanger sequencing. The technologies that fall into this category include Illumina (Solexa) sequencing, Roche 454 sequencing, Ion Torrent: Proton/PGM sequencing, and SOLiD sequencing.

6 Sep 2017

Krebs Cycle Overview

The Krebs cycle is named after its discoverer, Hans Krebs. It is also known as the citric acid cycle or the tricarboxylic acid cycle. It is a series of chemical reactions required for cellular respiration; it involves redox, dehydration, hydration, and decarboxylation reactions that produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate), a coenzyme energy carrier for cells. The waste product, in the form of carbon dioxide, is also produced as well as further sets of reactants used to regenerate the original reaction.

6 Sep 2017

Protein Complex Analysis

Proteins, also called polypeptides, are the polymers of amino acids. There are a total of twenty amino acids called monomers that exist naturally in proteins. Proteins are found in abundance and are differentiated from each other according to the number, type, and arrangement of amino acids in series, which comprise the mainstay of polypeptides.

6 Sep 2017

Protein Crystallization

Protein crystallization is an important tool to purify proteins as well as to demonstrate their chemical purity.

6 Sep 2017

Sanger Sequencing

The first DNA sequencing method was developed by Frederick Sanger in 1977. The technique was based on incorporation of chain-terminating dideoxynucleotides by DNA polymerase while replicating DNA.

5 Sep 2017

Shotgun Sequencing

Shotgun sequencing is the method used to sequence the human genome by Criag Venter at Celera Genomics.

5 Sep 2017

Raman Spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopy is a form of vibrational spectroscopy that is used to observe changes in a molecule; these may be rotational, vibrational or some other form.

5 Sep 2017

Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Modern instrumental chemical analysis employs a variety of techniques. Fluorescence spectroscopy is one of these methods and is based on the principle of excitation and emission of characteristic radiation by the analyte. This emission is then examined and the energies and relative intensities of the various parts of the spectrum tell the researcher both the types of molecules present and their concentration and absolute amount.

5 Sep 2017

Picosecond Absorption Spectroscopy

Absorption spectroscopy is one of the many techniques that utilize spectroscopic principles to study components of a mixture of substances. These are used to measure the absorption of radiation following interaction with a sample of the substance under study, which depends upon the frequency or wavelength of the radiated energy.

5 Sep 2017

Introduction to Optogenetics

Optogenetics is a technique used for the study of neural circuits in the brain. It is a branch of biotechnology that combines genetics and optical techniques to conceive and control a specific neural circuit in a living human brain.

31 Aug 2017

Metabolomics in Plants

Metabolomic studies in plants help to understand plant biology and physiology from the perspective of small chemical molecules. The role of metabolomics has found its way in plant biotechnology, transgenic research, improved tolerance to stress, and plant breeding.

29 Aug 2017

Why Cryo-EM is Gaining Popularity in Structural Biology

Cryo-electron microscopy, also known as Cryo-EM, is a technique for visualizing macromolecular structures which has been developed over the last two decades. It is a form of transmission electron microscopy which permits samples to be studied at cryogenic temperatures.

11 Aug 2017

Environmental Metabolomics

Environmental metabolomics helps to study the impact on organisms when exposed to environmental stress such as pollution, changes in climate, infection, or a combination of these stressors. Environmental metabolomics, which encompasses plants and animals, both terrestrial and aquatic, and humans, assists us in monitoring the environment and assessing the risks involved in the ecology.

10 Aug 2017

Targeted Metabolomics

Metabolome can be described as the terminal output of the genome that comprises the overall complement of metabolites (molecules with low molecular weight) in an organism or cell. The technique of measuring molecules is divided into two groups: targeted metabolomics and untargeted metabolomics.

8 Aug 2017

High-throughput DNA Sequencing Techniques

Full genomes of several organisms have been sequenced in the past fifteen years, including the human genome in 2004. These studies were completed using Sanger DNA sequencing, which has a limited throughput and high cost meaning the human genome took fifteen years to sequence and cost nearly three billion dollars

7 Aug 2017

Sample Preparation for Fluorescence Microscopy

Fluorescence Microscopy allows specimens to be studied with high sensitivity and specificity through the use of light. It works on the principle that energy emitted by certain types of materials can be detected as light, if irradiated with the light of a specific wavelength

2 Aug 2017

History of the Electron Microscope

The history of the electron microscope dates back to early twentieth century when the first electromagnetic lens was developed. This opened the door of possibility to use the principles of the lens to invent a microscope that could examine the structure of samples with greater detail.

27 Jul 2017

Advances in Metabolomics Research

Research in metabolomics is paving the way for advances in many fields such as plant engineering, crop protection, development of new pesticides, aquaculture—the environment as a whole. At present, metabolomics aid decision making in the discovery of biomarkers

25 Jul 2017