More and more chemicals of various origins are being discharged into our local water streams, ending up at waste and water treatment facilities.  These chemicals comprising of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and other various industrial chemicals are currently not removed by typical wastewater treatment practices.  Further, current regulations from the Food and Drug Administration do not require testing or removing these chemicals even as their amounts aggregate in our drinking water.  Therefore, the general public is currently being exposed to these dangerous chemicals that pose significant adverse health risks.                           (more...)

Biomaterial particles that mimic the key structural and functional attributes of red blood cells.  (more...)

Available for licensing are patent rights in a method of increasing the number of collagen crosslinks in tissue, thereby strengthening the tissue, potentially preventing damage and improving mechanical properties of the collagen. (more...)

Fluorine-18 (18F-) is an important isotope in radiotracer synthesis for positron emission tomography (PET). Fluorine-18 possesses many desirable properties such as a strong and stable C-F bond, relatively low energy, and a half-life that provides sufficient time for local shipping. Radiosynthesis of the majority of PET probes involves the concentration of the F18­fluoride ion, followed by several cycles of azeotropic distillation to remove all the water. The dried and activated 18F is then transferred to the microfluidic or capillary microreactor for subsequent fluorination steps. These steps have traditionally mandated a scale of production that is much greater than the required amount of isotope, leading to severe limitations in cost, speed of production and reaction efficiency. The inefficient production of the radioisotope is a restriction on further research and clinical study of new radiolabeled compounds. Novel approaches that can efficiently downscale the preparation and synthesis of PET probes have enormous potential in improving research and access to PET imaging.    (more...)

Cell-based systems for in vitro biomarker profiling of drug efficacy or discovery. (more...)

Tissue engineering is a field aimed at developing artificial tissues and organs for use in the clinical arena or as tools for in vitro assay where there is a desire to mimic the in vivo setting. Cells, scaffolds and growth stimulating signals are invariably the three key components of engineered tissues. Promising as it is, tissue engineering still has great technical obstacles, with the lack of proper vascularization in the scaffold being the main limitation. Recent research has shown that the porosity of scaffolding materials is critical to proper vascularization. One technique used to produce porous hydrogels to be used as a scaffold is sphere templating via heat sintering. However, the sintering process is slow and there is a need to expedite this process, while maintaining product quality.  (more...)

There is an ever-increasing knowledge base concerning the molecular signatures of specific diseases and their potential in personalized medicine. Within this context, “theranostic” agents are of particular interest since they combine in vivo imaging for diagnostics and therapeutics within a single system. Current structural imaging techniques do not capitalize on the molecular basis of disease to add specificity. While structure imaging is oftentimes sufficient to answer general clinical questions, it has been inadequate in assessing molecular characteristics of diseased tissues (i.e., tumors). At times, structural imaging techniques are unable to discern benign from malignant tissue, such as lymph nodes or lung nodules. New methods and compositions are needed to fill the void and expand the reach of therapy by allowing the visualization, characterization, and measurement of biological processes at the molecular and cellular levels. (more...)

Blood saving techniques and artificial blood are the two principal approaches currently used to remedy the shortage in blood supply. In emergencies, the first priority of clinicians facing significant blood loss in patients is to re-establish a patient’s blood volume to prevent microvascular collapse, which may be accomplished with a transfusion of plasma expanders. The next priority is to restore oxygen transportation through blood transfusion. The use of many commercial plasma expanders is often limited by sides effects such as red blood cell aggregation (hydroxyethyl starch), nephrotoxicity (dextran) and extravasation (albumin). (more...)

Nitrogen-rich tetrazines, have broad applications in biochemistry including small-molecule imaging, genetically targeted protein tagging, post-synthetic DNA labeling, nanoparticle-based clinical diagnostics, in-vivo imaging, as well as significant use in materials science, coordination chemistry, and the production of high energy materials such as those used in specialty explosives research. Among other uses, tetrazines can serve as coupling agents for molecular imaging compounds such as fluorophores or magnetic contrast agents, or even as ligands for metal catalysts or inorganic materials such as metal-organic frameworks. Tetrazines are also valuable synthetic intermediates, and have been elegantly deployed on route to several natural product syntheses. Despite the promise of tetrazines, the lack of convenient synthetic methods is a significant roadblock to their broader use and study. (more...)

UCI researchers have fabricated a single pore membrane with an undulating pore diameter and tested its ability to differentiate particle shape, size and ductility. This new membrane and technique has demonstrated the ability to count/sort particles at order of magnitude higher concentrations than currently available Coulter counters.. (more...)

Dual-beam optical traps are often used with microfluidic channels to manipulate  micron-sized dielectric objects such as biological cells or polystyrene beads. The manipulation allows researchers to examine the mechanical properties of soft particles and the dynamics of particles suspended in microfluidic flows. The channels are also used to hold living cells over extended periods of time so they can be observed. But  optical trapsand microfluidic systems suitable for practical applications have been quite complicated and expensive to make, primarily because of  the difficulties of holding optical fibers in place mechanically on a chip or of using optical wave-guides or lasers as substitutes for optical fibers. There has been a particular need to  incorporate complex micro-fabricated components into a system’s design to make it compact enough for use with microscopes. (more...)

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have discovered that inhibition of a key regulatory protein can prevent acute post injury cellular responses leading to cartilage degradation and osteoarthritis.   (more...)

Stem cells hold the promise of producing functional tissues that can replace those lost due to disease or injury. Stem cells exhibit "pluripotency," meaning that they have the potential to become any cell type in the body. New organ tissues, such as those found in the heart, liver, or nervous system, can be created from stem cells through the process of "differentiation." However, one major challenge in developing tissue replacement therapy is the heterogeneity and low yield associated with stem cell differentiation. It is well established that mechanical factors of the cellular microenvironment, including cell shape and density, influence stem cell differentiation and cell behaviors in general. Stem cells form isolated colonies in culture, and the geometry of these colonies can have a profound impact on their capacity for differentiation. There is currently a commercialized technology for controlling the size and shape of embryoid body formation and it has been shown that the size of embyroid bodies is important for differentiation. But many differentiation techniques do not involve the formation of embryoid bodies, and instead induce differentiation from 2D monolayer cultures of stem cells. Current 2D stem cell culturing protocols lack control over colony geometry because they allow for random attachment to tissue culturing surfaces. This leads to unpredictable stem cell growth which ultimately hurts our ability to successfully control the cell fate and differentiate into specific cell types. By patterning an extracellular matrix (ECM), such as Matrigel, colony formation, growth, and geometries can be highly regulated. By using silicone stencils a standard tissue culture plate can be converted into a cell patterning substrate while still using the normal ECM plating procedures. (more...)

Investigators at UC Berkeley have developed an alternative approach to engineer the shikimate pathway in E. coli. The native pathway was reconstructed in a modular fashion to remove bottlenecks and optimize the flux and production by improving promoters and regulatory elements.Using these modifications to the shikimate pathway resulted in strains that produce high yields of tyrosine and other valuable intermediates such as shikimate and dehydroshikimate and also dehydroquinate and quinate.This pathway engineering can also be used for production of other aromatic amino acids, tryptophan and phenylalanine at high yields as well as additional intermediates such as phenylpyruvate, anthranilate, and others. These constructed metabolic pathways can be transferred to other strains or microorganisms. (more...)

The elastic properties of a biomaterial tissue scaffold reflect its ability to handle external loading conditions and must be tailored to match the attributes of the native tissue that it aims to repair. A scaffold’s elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio describe how it supports and transmits external stresses to the host tissue site. (The Poisson ratio is positive/negative when the material contracts/expands transversally with axial expansion; “auxetic” materials are materials that exhibit negative Poisson ratio.) While the elastic modulus is tunable in scaffolds, the Poisson’s ratio of virtually every porous tissue construct is positive. There have been no reports of solid-phase micro-cellular biomaterials synthesized with a precisely-tuned negative Poisson’s ratio. Others have formed auxetic polyurethane foams by compressing the foams and annealing them while compressed; however, the annealing process renders little practical control over the cellular microstructure comprising the foams, making it very difficult to tune the strain-dependent behavior of Poisson’s ratio. Additionally, the foams have little to no use in biological applications involving the interactions between biomaterials and living tissue (e.g., tissue engineering applications) and other biological applications. (more...)

Use of inorganic microparticles and nanoparticles in biological systems may confer many benefits. One primary example is in the realm of fluorescent labeling as an analytical tool for modern biotechnology and analytical chemistry. Conventional labels that use organic dye molecules carry several limitations. Only a few different colors may be used simultaneously, they require a broad spectrum excitation source, their photostability is not very long, and it is impossible to label a material with a single type of probe for both electron microscopy and for fluorescence. Semiconductor nanocrystals (also known as quantum dots) provide a very real solution to the limitations of organic dye molecules. Varying the size of the nanocrystals allows a tuning of the emission wavelength without changing the absorption characteristics. Further, they emit a strong fluorescent signal that remains stable for a much longer period of time. However, these semiconductor nanocrystals are highly hydrophobic particles. As a result, to have any significant biological application, surface chemistry is necessary to make the particle biocompatible and soluble in aqueous environments. (more...)

Bioactive peptides and peptidic small molecules are of interest as potential intracellular therapeutics in human disease. Peptide therapeutics have great potential for high target specificity, low toxicity, and low accumulation in tissues. Unfortunately natural unmodified peptides often exhibit poor permeability across cell membranes and this has limited the utility of peptides as therapeutics for intracellular targets.  (more...)

Surface patterning for single-cell culture is of great importance in studies dealing with cell shape and microenvironment effects on the motility, migration, proliferation, and differentiation of cells.  These patterning techniques are key to effective cell printing needed for future medical advancements, such as 3D printing of artificial organs, tissue regeneration, and tissue engineering.  Despite advances in surface patterning methods, important material surfaces such as glass cannot be easily patterned with established printing methods without prior surface modification. Investigators at University of California at Berkeley have addressed this need by developing a single-cell patterning technique.  This innovation is accomplished by coating the substrate surface with a hydrophobic film and then patterning the film surface.  This surface patterning innovation for single-cell culture was achieved by combining plasma-assisted surface chemical modification, soft lithography, and protein-induced surface activation on glass.  In a proof of concept study, the investigators have accomplished surfaces seeding with mesenchymal stem cells in serum medium, resulting in single-cell patterning.   In additional research, using a dry lithography method, hydrophilic surface patterns on polystyrene were directly applied to cell culture dishes without the requirement of clean-room facilities or chemicals that could be harmful to sensitive cells. The long-term stability of single-cell patterns on PS dish surfaces produced by the present method was accomplished in cell culture experiments with neuron stem cells (NSCs) and bovine aorta endothelial cells. (more...)

This invention describes a modular approach to build chiral calixarene phosphite and phosphate ligands. The chiral ligands can be used to for a asymmetric catalysis such as reduction, hydroformylation, sulfoxidation, epoxidations, and chiral acid catalysis. The invention also describes a mthod of controlling the reactivity ot metals by coordination with the chiral calixarene-related moities. (more...)

The Overman laboratory at the University of California, Irvine has generated a library of ~1,200 unusually diverse small drug-like molecules. (more...)

A new platform to mimic the in-vivo formation of angiogenesis. (more...)

Nanoparticles capable of reversible changes in morphology in response to specific stimuli are expected to have broad utility in designing targeted drug-delivery, detection strategies, self-healing materials, and templates for hierarchical directed assembly. While there are several elegant examples of stimuli-responsive soft nanoparticles, programmable materials with the requisite shape-change properties remain elusive. (more...)

Background: UNAIDS and the WHO estimate that AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognized in 1981, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in recorded history. Currently, in USA alone, it is estimated that one million people are living with HIV or AIDS and roughly 55,000 more become infected each year. Although there is no cure for HIV infection, treatment with anti-retroviral drugs that target the HIV virus can significantly extend the lifespan of HIV-infected patients. Unfortunately, due to the rapid evolution of the HIV virus, many antiviral drugs are rendered ineffective by the emergence of drug-resistant viral variants. Therefore, it is imperative that alternative strategies to combat HIV infection are developed. One such creative strategy taken by UCSF scientists is to identify host cell factors that are vital for HIV replication and to generate products to neutralize these factors while preserving normal host cell function. Invention: Innovative scientists at UCSF have a) identified a number of host factors involved in HIV replication using a novel, elegant screening method; and b) generated siRNA products to knockdown the expression of six of these host factors. Importantly, the team successfully demonstrated that knockdown of any one of these six factors significantly reduced HIV replication rates. Therefore, the screen and / or siRNAs would be an important asset to companies with an anti-HIV therapeutic focus. (more...)

The use of antibodies to target tumor cell-associated antigens for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes has been a critical step forward in cancer research. As protein engineering capabilities grow, researchers modify antibodies to alter inherent characteristics, such as affinity and immunogenicity, for enhanced imaging and tumor response. One example of this is in the conjugation of various radionuclides to small recombinant antibody fragments (i.e. diabodies and minibodies) for in vivo tumor cell targeting applications. However, it is not always advantageous to use radioactivity, and thus alternative detection systems are necessary. To that end, the search for high-sensitivity and high-specificity probes that circumvent the limitations of organic dyes and fluorescent proteins has led to the discovery and utilization of quantum dots, nanometer-sized semiconductor particles. Quantum dots are brighter than traditional chromophores, have greater stability, and can be used in multiplex imaging due to size-tunable emission wavelengths. To date, bioconjugates with quantum dots are coupled to intact antibodies whose large size makes it difficult to penetrate tissues and tumors. Therefore, it would be advantageous to monitor tumors with a robust, but small, bioconjugate for tandem in vivo monitoring and treatment. (more...)

Resin-based and resin-containing materials are routinely used in dental practices as direct filling materials, fissure sealing agents, and as bonding resins or resin cements for metal, porcelain, and resin inlays, veneers, crowns, and bridges. The use of resin-based materials will likely continue to increase in the future.While the use of resin-containing materials is beneficial to the appearance of patients, these materials carry the risks of cytotoxicity and allergy. Most dental bonding technologies use primers containing the hydrophilic resins HEMA or TEGDMA. HEMA and TEGDMA have been shown to be a cause of these adverse effects due to the release of unpolymerized monomers in the surrounding tooth area, thereby triggering apoptosis or programmed cell death. Similarly, the adverse effects of bleaching agents on dental pulp and gingivae are well established. Therefore, methods for neutralizing the harmful effects of resin monomers and bleaching agents would be beneficial to current dental practices. (more...)

Background: Prostate cancer, alopecia, hepatocellular carcinoma, and acne vulgaris are a few examples of the myriad of diseases linked to androgen receptor signaling. These diseases have a significant impact on human health; for example, The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2009, prostate cancer will cause 27,360 deaths and 192,280 new cases will be diagnosed. In fact, one man in six will get prostate cancer in his lifetime and one in thirty-five will die from this disease. Androgen receptor inhibitors are the primary treatment option for androgen-related diseases. Current inhibitors prevent ligand binding to the androgen receptor, but these treatments can result in acquired resistance and serious side effects. Due to the limitations of current treatment options, alternative antiandrogen therapies are urgently needed. Inventions: Prominent UCSF scientists have discovered a suite of novel small molecule inhibitors of the androgen receptor. Using an innovative approach to avoid the pitfalls associated with current antiandrogen therapies, Dr Diamond’s team identified multiple compounds that inhibit the androgen receptor post-ligand binding. The team validated this work by demonstrating the ability of these compounds to inhibit endogenous androgen receptor activity in prostate cancer-derived cell lines. Further validation in animal models of prostate cancer is underway for many of the novel compounds. Significantly, the team demonstrated that one such compound, pyrvinium pamoate, inhibits androgen receptor signaling in vivo and induces prostate atrophy. Furthermore, pyrvinium synergizes with known inhibitors that prevent ligand binding (Jones et al. 2009). In addition to the novel compounds, an assay to detect selective gene regulation by ligand dependent transcription factors has been developed. This assay could be used to uncover additional candidates for androgen receptor inhibition. The assay has been successfully tested on the glucocorticoid receptor and led to the discovery of selective modulators of this receptor for treatment of inflammation, allergic, and immune-mediated diseases.  Three patents have been filed on these technologies to provide a strong IP position for a licensee. (more...)

Neural stem cells offer great potential for treatment of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease; for treatment of neural dysfunctions such as dementia and epilepsy; and for repairing debilitating neural injuries such as brain traumas, spinal cord traumas, and strokes. However, adult stem cells for certain types of neural tissues are not available in sufficient quantities for commercial purposes. Embryonic stem cells may overcome this limitation, but growing neural cell types from them has been hampered by the difficulty in obtaining homogenous cell populations, in obtaining the glial cell subtype, and in obtaining a suitable culture media. Moreover, the full regeneration of neuron tissue requires the correct geometric orientation of neural cells, not just the growth and differentiation of stem cells into the required neural cell types. On a normal culture surface, a neuron cell grown in vitro will extend its axons in all directions, thereby failing to replicate the parallel, cell-to-cell orientation of axons found in vivo. At present, there are no simple and economical methods available for growing, differentiating, and correctly orienting embryonic stem cells to regenerate functional neurons. (more...)

A novel cell adhesion matrix incorporating molecular recognition elements for tissue engineering (more...)

Current one-pot syntheses of MOFs and ZIFs are limited in the types of metals that can be utilized in the open frameworks. This invention provides the methodology for introducing any metal into the open framework paving the way for these materials to be used in gas storage and separation, chemical and biological sensing, molecular reorganization, and catalysts. (more...)

BACKGROUND:   Liposomes have been used in many drug, nutritional, and cosmetic delivery applications due to their unique properties that mimic the phospholipid bilayer of cell membranes. In all of their applications, liposome stability is crucial for efficient delivery stable liposomes mimimize leakage and loss of the payload. Sterols such as cholesterol have been proven to to greatly improve liposome stabilization. Consequently, cholesterol is widely used in liposome formulations. Sterols, as phytosterols, are also used in a variety of nutritional products to reduce cholesterol levels in humans. UNMET NEED: When liposomes composed of free cholesterol and phospholipids are combined with biological fluids containing biological lipids and serum, cholesterol rapidly transfers out of the liposome into the biological lipids. This loss of cholesterol from the liposome results in decreased liposome stability and the subsequent leakage or loss of the encapsulated payload. Additionally, serum lipoproteins absorb free cholesterol, further increasing the rate of cholesterol loss from the liposome. Efforts to solve this problem have led to the development of water soluble sterol derivatives as well as hydrophobic sterols. However, neither have proven to be suitable for improving liposome stability. A new technology is needed that will allow liposomes with high amounts of sterols to remain stable when exposed to biological fluids.   SUMMARY: Scientists at UCSF have developed sterol derivatives that improve liposome stability both in vitro and in vivo. These derivatives can be incorporated into liposome formulations in the high amounts necessary to produce a stabilizing effect, and are resistant to transfer out of the liposome into biological fluid components. Cholesterol transfer out of a liposome in in a lipid laden environment typically occurs with a half-life of two hours, whereas the transfer of the UCSF sterol derivatives under the same conditions is undetectable after eight hours. Furthermore, liposomes containing UCSF sterol derivatives have demonstrated 80% less leakage in serum than liposomes containing free cholesterol.  As an example of an oncology application, UCSF sterol-containing liposomes encapsulating doxorubicin showed equivalent therapeutic effect when compared to DoxilTM in a mouse cancer model.  In an infectious disease application, UCSF sterol-containing liposomes encapsulating amphotericin B showed lower toxicity and improved activity against a panel of fungi compared to AmBisomeTM. (more...)

Recurrent blockage of urinary catheters and indwelling ureteral stents made of silicone and other materials is a common problem. Blockage is frequently caused by the build-up of precipitated mineral deposits (i.e. encrustations) on the catheter or stent surface. In addition, various bacteria in the urine can adhere to the surface and create a protective biofilm thereby precluding effective antibiotic therapy and further contributing to mineral deposition. The problem of biofilm and encrustation has been approached by developing anti-microbial coatings or the inclusion of organic anti-microbial components into the substance of the stent itself. However none of these anti-microbial techniques is completely effective. (more...)

There is great variability among different organisms in their ability to naturally or artificially synthesize and accumulate lipids, hydrocarbons, and polymers. Consequently, many organisms must be screened in order to achieve the desired maximal bio-product accumulation. After an ideal organism is selected, its product content can vary with lifecycle stage, cultivation conditions, cellular stress and/or time. This variability must be understood and controlled during R&D, process development and manufacturing scale-up in order to maximize product yields. The above process of screening and development can be time-consuming and consequently costly.  To address this situation, scientists at UC Berkeley have developed a method for quick and precise estimation of lipid, hydrocarbon or biopolymer content in live cells -- whether grown as single cells or in colonies. This method can be used for screening a variety of microorganisms for product accumulation (microorganism prospecting), and to check yields throughout the production process -- allowing for more rapid improvement of production methods and shortened R&D timelines. (more...)

Light-Independent Phytochrome Signaling (more...)

Bacillus Delta Endotoxin PAbs Specific polyclonal antibodies for the assay of the delta endotoxins of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki and Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis. OTHER ANTIBODIES: 4-Nitrophenol Biomarker PAbs 1992-742 Specific polyclonal antibodies for the bioassay of the primary metabolite of many organophosphates and nitro-aromatics, substituted 4-nitrophenol. Bromacil Herbicide PAbs 1992-743 Specific polyclonal antibodies for the assay of the herbicide bromacil. Pyrethrin Insecticide PAbs 1992-746 Specific polyclonal antibodies for the analysis of natural pyrethrin insecticides and the pyrethroid S-bioallethrin. Bentazon Herbicide PAbs 1992-747 Specific polyclonal antibodies for the assay of the herbicide bentazon and its N-alkylated derivative. Benzoylphenylurea Insecticide PAbs 1992-748 Specific polyclonal antibodies for the assay of the Benzoylphenylurea insecticides (Dimilin, Bay Sir and others) and their related compounds. t-Octylphenyl polyethoxylate ether Pabs 1992-749 Specific polyclonal antibodies for the assay of the Triton-X class of surfactants, t-Octylphenyl polyethoxylate ether). These compounds are widely used as cleansers, detergents and as active ingredients in vaginal contraceptives. Bacillus Beta Exotoxin PAbs 1993-704 Specific polyclonal antibodies for the assay of the beta exotoxin of Bacillus thuringiensis. Triazine Herbicide Pabs 1993-705 Specific polyclonal antibodies for the assay of derivatized triazine herbicides (atrazine, simazine and others). Urea Herbicide Pabs 1993-711 Specific polyclonal antibodies for the assay of phenylurea herbicides (diuron, monuron, linuron). (more...)

Urea Herbicide Pabs Specific polyclonal antibodies for the assay of phenylurea herbicides (diuron, monuron, linuron). OTHER ANTIBODIES: 4-Nitrophenol Biomarker PAbs 1992-742 Specific polyclonal antibodies for the bioassay of the primary metabolite of many organophosphates and nitro-aromatics, substituted 4-nitrophenol. Bromacil Herbicide PAbs 1992-743 Specific polyclonal antibodies for the assay of the herbicide bromacil. Bacillus Delta Endotoxin PAbs 1992-745 Specific polyclonal antibodies for the assay of the delta endotoxins of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki and Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis. Pyrethrin Insecticide PAbs 1992-746 Specific polyclonal antibodies for the analysis of natural pyrethrin insecticides and the pyrethroid S-bioallethrin. Bentazon Herbicide PAbs 1992-747 Specific polyclonal antibodies for the assay of the herbicide bentazon and its N-alkylated derivative. Benzoylphenylurea Insecticide PAbs 1992-748 Specific polyclonal antibodies for the assay of the Benzoylphenylurea insecticides (Dimilin, Bay Sir and others) and their related compounds. t-Octylphenyl polyethoxylate ether Pabs 1992-749 Specific polyclonal antibodies for the assay of the Triton-X class of surfactants, t-Octylphenyl polyethoxylate ether). These compounds are widely used as cleansers, detergents and as active ingredients in vaginal contraceptives. Bacillus Beta Exotoxin PAbs 1993-704 Specific polyclonal antibodies for the assay of the beta exotoxin of Bacillus thuringiensis. Triazine Herbicide Pabs 1993-705 Specific polyclonal antibodies for the assay of derivatized triazine herbicides (atrazine, simazine and others). (more...)

Monoclonal Antibodies Against MMP9, Menke's Disease, and Wilson's Disease (more...)

Monoclonal Antibodies Against Molecular Targets Found in the Nervous System (more...)

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed transgenic mouse models that constitutively express B cell Activating Factor (BAFF) in the Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) family, and Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) under the control of Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) promoter in astrocytes. (more...)

Amino acid-N-carboxyanhydride (NCA) polymerizations employing conventional initiators (e.g. hexylamine or sodium methoxide) are plagued by chain-breaking transfer and termination reactions which prevent the formation of block copolymers. The mechanisms of NCA polymerization have been under intensive study to find a method for enhancing control over chain growth in these reactions. These investigations have been severely hindered by the complexity of the polymerizations, which can proceed through multiple pathways. (more...)