BioProbes 79

Featured article

Adoptive cell therapies in immuno-oncology research

Recent advances in immuno-oncology (I-O) research are paving the way for the discovery of novel classes of cancer therapeutics that enhance or enable antitumor immune responses, overcome tumor evasion mechanisms, and promote conditions that favor immune protection. Two principal areas of research include the development of biotherapeutic antibodies that target immune-checkpoint pathways and the expansion of cellular approaches such as adoptive cell therapies (ACT). Thermo Fisher Scientific is developing 3D cell culture techniques and low–cell attachment microplates, along with assays and instruments for analyzing cell function. Here we demonstrate the use of several of these techniques and reagents to study immune cell infiltration in 3D tumor spheroid cultures and the subsequent death, by apoptosis, of spheroid cells.

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Across the spectrum: Supporting spectral flow cytometry applications

Spectral flow cytometry exploits the inherent emission pattern of each fluorescent molecule to generate a unique spectral signature. By relying on the discrimination of unique spectral signatures rather than specific emission channels for detection, spectral flow cytometry enables the use of many fluorescent combinations that were previously difficult or impossible to separate, allowing for increasingly complex multicolor experiments.

The Invitrogen portfolio of flow cytometry antibodies, assays, and reagents addresses the needs of your spectral flow cytometry experiment, whether you are an immunologist investigating the role of regulatory T cells (Tregs), a cell biologist interested in fluorescently labeling RNA for downstream applications, or a microbiologist studying endocytosis, viability, or proliferation.

Learn more about spectral flow cytometry assays and reagents

Behind the Bench blog: Macrophages and more macrophages

Want to learn a few basics about macrophages? Interested in hearing about the newest antibody markers available for studying macrophages? The Invitrogen Behind the Bench blog has four new blog posts that cater to your macrophage research.

Get macrophage basics directly from a Thermo Fisher Scientific R&D scientist in the blog post “Macrophages by flow cytometry: New insights through novel antibody reagents”. Or, for a description of available antibody markers for studying macrophages, read three new blog posts from the R&D scientists who developed them:

• Anti–mouse RELM alpha monoclonal antibody (clone DS8RELM)
• Anti–mouse CD163 monoclonal antibody (clone TNKUPJ)
• Anti–human/mouse arginase-1 monoclonal antibody (clone A1exF5)

Each blog post provides insights into the performance of the antibody markers and their applications in the immunophenotyping of macrophages using flow cytometry.

Read the flow cytometry–tagged subset of the Behind the Bench blog

Watch: How to use the Pierce Chromogenic Endotoxin Quantitation Kit

The video “How to use the Pierce Chromogenic Endotoxin Quantitation Kit” brings to life the simple protocol of the Thermo Scientific Pierce Chromogenic Endotoxin Quant Kit. In just over 10 minutes, you will learn how this kit accurately detects and measures endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide) in a protein, peptide, nucleic acid, or antibody sample using an endpoint amebocyte lysate assay. The Pierce Chromogenic Endotoxin Quant Kit enables endotoxin contamination detection with two linear sensitivity ranges: 0.01–0.1 EU/mL and 0.1–1.0 EU/mL. It is also:

• Highly specific—no interference from β-glucans and suitable for a wide range of samples
• Fast—perform assay in as little as 20 minutes
• Chromogenic—measure this endpoint assay using a standard spectrophotometer or plate reader at 405–410 nm

Watch the video How to use the Pierce Chromogenic Endotoxin Quantitation Kit

Product selection tool for crosslinking applications

Are you looking for ways to improve your protein crosslinking results? Our interactive Crosslinker Selection Tool enables you to quickly and easily find the optimal protein crosslinker based on target functional group, cleavability, water solubility, pegylation, cell membrane permeability, spacer arm length, and packaging. Download your selections to a PDF that includes a list of key references where applicable.

Try the Crosslinker Selection Tool

Product selection tool for biotinylation applications

With so many biotinylation options to choose from, it can be time-consuming and cumbersome to find the right reagent. That’s why we created the interactive Biotinylation Reagent Selection Tool to enable you to quickly and easily find the right biotin or desthiobiotin labeling reagent. This tool allows you to download your selections to a PDF that includes a list of key references where applicable.

Try the Biotinylation Reagent Selection Tool