Each year LabAutomation plays host to an outstanding line-up of influential, forward thinking industry visionaries. When you attend LabAutomation2011 you have the opportunity to interact with these visionaries whose work exemplifies the mission of SLAS — to advance science and education related to laboratory automation. Join us in welcoming visionaries such as Chad Mirkin, Ph.D., who in 2009 was asked by President Obama to participate as a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and John Butler, a Fellow and Group Leader of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Chad A. Mirkin, Ph.D.
George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry and Director of International Institute for Nanotechnology at Northwestern University; Member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Monday, January 31, 9:00-10:00 am
The Polyvalent Oligonucleotide Nanoparticle Conjugate:
A New Frontier in In Vitro Diagnostics and Intracellular Gene Regulation
Over the past decade, we have developed methods for modifying nanoparticles with oligonucleotides and explored how they can be used as designer constructs for preparing highly ordered, highly functional materials. Over the course of these studies, we have discovered many unusual fundamental properties that make these materials particularly useful in biodiagnostics and intracellular gene regulation. This session focuses on the rules that govern the use of these conjugates and sequence specific crystallization, high selectivity and sensitivity nucleic acid and protein detection, and "antisense" therapy. Specifically, the concept of the "antisense particle," as well as similarly functionalized siRNA particles, which exhibit a range of unique properties that make them very well-suited for gene regulation are introduced. In particular, the particles are highly resistant to nuclease digestion, have high and tailorable binding constants for target mRNA, and exhibit high entry efficiency into multiple cell types. Further, we can tailor the chemistry on the nanoparticle surface, and thus control the particles' binding strength to complementary target sequences, ultimately demonstrating that changing the binding strength or surface chemistries offers a means to control the degree of protein expression.
Daryl Lund, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Food Science, Institute of Food Technologists; Emeritus Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Tuesday, February 1, 9:00-10:00 am
Laboratory Sensitivity and Automation: Essential for Utilizing the Full Value of Food
From the beginning of commerce, those who could measure quantity were a part of the business team. That we have come a long way is a gross understatement. The food industry in particular required from the earliest days instrumentation that could be used to measure content. From my own university (UW-Madison) came the Babcock Test, used universally to determine the butterfat content of milk, a basis upon which farmers were paid. Our regulatory agencies have come to depend on the ability to measure ingredients and contaminants to assure consumers of value and safety and eliminate fraud. As knowledge has expanded to the point of marketing food because of its functional properties of promoting good health, it has become even more crucial to have laboratory analytical techniques that accurately measure chemical constituents. Now, as our ability to measure constituents becomes more and more sensitive, it calls into question, "What is a safe level?" These issues and the relationship between food and drugs are examined in this presentation. Progress in developing analytical laboratory equipment is essential if we are to realize the full potential of food for health.
John M. Butler, Ph.D.
NIST Fellow & Group Leader; Applied Genetics Group; Biochemical Science Division; Chemical Science & Technology Laboratory; National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Wednesday, February 2, 12:45 pm
Lab Automation: A Necessary Part of the Future of Forensic DNA Testing
While TV shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and NCIS make crime solving appear trivial and show scientists making conclusions at high speeds with full resolution, real forensic DNA laboratories today are overwhelmed with evidence needing to be analyzed. Budgets are shrinking while case backlogs are growing. Quality must not suffer in spite of demands for higher quantities of sample processing. Improved automation of laboratory processes is an obvious solution particularly in the area of data interpretation. This presentation reviews the current state-of-the-science and show where automation improvements have been made and can still be made to handle a growing number of DNA samples that need to be processed. Applications of DNA testing beyond forensic analysis are shown.
