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This technology includes the generation and use of novel rabbit polyclonal antibodies against a GST-tagged portion of the human protein mitofusin 1 (amino acids 667-741).

This technology includes the design and use of several nanobodies that bind to the SARS-CoV2 spike protein receptor binding domain and block spike protein interaction with the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor. Nanobodies are 12-15 kDa single-domain antibody fragments that are more stable and easier to produce in large quantities compared to conventional antibodies. SARS-CoV2 is the virus responsible for the COVID19 pandemic. The SARS-CoV2 spike protein is responsible for viral entry into human cells via interaction with ACE2 on the cell surface.

This technology includes the design and implementation for 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that allows single transmit hardware to be "transformed" for another nucleus excitation to perform multi-nuclear MR. A radiofrequency (RF) optically controlled switch-mode amplifier prototype is tuned for excitation of two nuclei. The amplifier received the nuclei carrier signals optically through a single fiber.

The invention is a novel longer-lived mouse model for Gaucher disease. Gaucher disease is a genetic disorder that results from deficiencies in the enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GBA). The use of animal models to study how the disease progresses has been invaluable in research of this disorder. However, existing mouse models have been limited due to early mortality because the GBA enzyme plays an important role in lysosomal storage.

3D spheroids have emerged as powerful drug discovery tools given their high-throughput screening (HTS) compatibility. The present invention presents a method for generating functional neural spheroids with differentiated human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neurons and astrocytes at cell type compositions mimicking specific regions of the human brain.

Enteric viruses like norovirus, rotavirus and astrovirus mainly transmit through fecal-oral route by ingestion of contaminated food and water and productively replicate in the intestines. Recently, researchers at National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) identified a second route of enteric viral transmission by demonstrating that these viruses also productively and persistently infect salivary glands, reaching titers comparable to that in intestines.

This technology includes Cyclopentane-modified Peptide Nucleic Acids (cp-PNAs) which can be combined with (forced-intercalation) FIT-PNAs to create highly sensitive probes that detect the presence of complementary RNA sequences. We have studied the beneficial effects of incorporating cyclopentane groups into the backbone of PNAs, which leads to proper preorganization of the PNA backbone into the conformations needed to bind complementary RNA sequences. The cp-PNAs typically have improved thermodynamic stability for binding to complementary nucleic acids compared to unmodified PNAs.

This technology includes five microRNA mimics which were identified to improve the functional expression of hard-to-express membrane protein. These miRNAs are: hsa-miR-22-5p; hsa-miR-18a-5p, hsa-miR-22-3p, hsa-miR-429 and hsa-miR-2110. Improving expression level of recombinant mammalian proteins is vital, as the adequate supply of correctly folded proteins is the prerequisite for all structure and function studies.

This technology includes a sensitive and specific method to rapidly detect antibodies in biofluids. This assay has been used for the detection of antibodies in blood, urine, and saliva. Until now, no one has used LIPS to detect clinically relevant antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid (N) or Spike (S) in saliva. Briefly, LIPS employs recombinantly synthesized target proteins or peptides (e.g., S and N proteins) tagged with light-emitting proteins as targets to be captured by host produced immunoglobulins. These immunoglobulins can be captured by protein A/G beads and immobilized.

This technology includes microRNAs for use in cell lines for protein production and potentially future treatments of cancer or diseases related to metabolism. Mmu-miR-466h was identified as a major apoptotic regulator in suspension adapted Chinese Hamster Ovary cells. Mmu-miR-466h was found to have the pro-apoptotic activity by targeting some anti-apoptotic genes for degradation during the exposure of CHO-S cells to the nutrients depleted media.