Category Archives: biotechnology

Notes from the Delaware BioScience Business Roundtable

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), National Venture Capital Association, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Delaware BioScience Association, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce and Delaware HIV Consortium organized the Delaware BioScience Business Roundtable held at Christiana Care’s John H. Ammon Medical Education Center on August 12.

This event brought together leaders from the bioscience, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries as well as top government officials.

The News Journal ran a great front page story on the event, here’s an excerpt:

The life sciences already have a strong footprint in Delaware, thanks in part to the presence of industry giants such as chemical and biotech firm DuPont Co., drug maker AstraZeneca and Agilent. A study earlier this year by the University of Delaware’s Center for Applied Demography & Survey Research found that the biopharmaceutical and related sectors employed nearly 12,000 people in Delaware in 2008.

Several speakers touted Delaware’s advantages in the field of life sciences, including its strong sense of community, easy access to government officials and high concentration of Ph.D.s.

“We have a lot to build on,” Gov. Jack Markell said in the event’s keynote speech.

The complete article and photos from the event can be seen by clicking here.

In addition to the newspaper coverage, some of us were offering live twitter updates – here’s a sample:

DEBioSci

Click Here to access the entire feed.

We were fortunate enough to catch up with some of the participants and get their insights on the BioScience Industry in Delaware, the U.S., and the world.

Gov. Jack Markell

Patrick Kelly, Vice President for State Government Relations and Alliance Development for the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) based in Washington, DC

Catherine Bonuccelli, Global Product Vice President for Symbicort, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP

An Apple A Day – minus the patulin – how Thin Layer Chromatography provides faster, cheaper answers

Here’s an excerpt from Scirus.com about using Thin Layer apple with patulinChromatography for the analysis of patulin in apple juice (emphasis added) :

Researchers from Brazil developed a rapid, simple and economical method using thin-layer chromatography quantification via fluorescence images from a UV lamp, for the determination of patulin in apple juice concentrate

Why it matters

According to the authors, patulin is a mycotoxin produced by certain species of Penicillium, Aspergillus and Byssochlamys. In previous research studies, liquid chromatography has been used for patulin determination in clear and cloudy apple juices, apple puree and apple-based products intended for infants. Methods such as gas and liquid Thin Layer Chromatography detects patulinchromatography have very low detection limits, but both techniques require sophisticated and costly equipment, extensive cleanup procedures and high purity solvents. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is a fast, cheap and efficient method of separation and identification of many mycotoxins. By coupling a two-dimensional charge coupled device with thin-layer chromatography, the entire TLC can be imaged in a single exposure, yielding rapid quantification in shorter analysis time than slit scanning densitometers.

 Click Here for the full Abstract.

Training the next generation in Biotechnology

St. Georges Technical High School has a stellar St. Georges Biotech Open HouseBiotechnology Program and the program’s director, Florence Malinowski, M.S., is happy to share what her students are learning.

St. Georges students demonstrate Elisa LabAt the programs’ first Open House, students demonstrated a wide variety of lab techniques – from DNA extraction to Gel Electrophoresis to Chromatography.

The following are excerpts from an article by Edward L. Kenney about the open house published by the News Journal:

Students, mostly juniors who are looking for summer internships and cooperative employment opportunities, showed off their skills at eight lab stations as employers took the opportunity to talk with them about what they were doing.
Student demonstrates chromatography at St. Georges High School
Junior Gina Peirce, 17, worked with a mortar and pestle, crushing spinach leaves and removing the juice for analysis.

“We’re finding out different pigments that are in spinach,” said Gina, who does not know yet what career she would like to pursue. “A lot of people came to this station and asked about this. It’s a really good opportunity for companies to see what we’re doing here at St. Georges.”

The first class will graduate next year, so many of the students also are looking at higher education. Among the college representatives at the open house was Joan Barber, the chairwoman for the biology and chemistry department at Delaware Technical & Community College’s Stanton Campus, which offers associate degree programs in biotechnology and chemistry technology.

“These students would be wonderful for our program,” she said. “They would be very well prepared. They’ve had a lot of introduction to things that we would be teaching them at DelTech.”

Below are a series of comments from some who attended the Open House:

  • Joan Barber, Ph.D., Chairperson of the Biology & chemistry Department with Delaware Technical & Community College

  • Ben Hsu, Ph.D. MBA, Chief Financial Officer with QPS

  • Nancy Wagner, Executive Director of Community Relations with Delaware State University

  • Russ Booth with the DuPont Company

  • Delaware BioScience Association President Bob Dayton

  • Patricia Jones with the University of Delaware

  • Florence Malinowski, M.S., Biotechnology instructor with St. Georges Technical High School