Chromatography is a process for the separation of compounds from the mixtures. Gas chromatography (GC) is one of the most important and common techniques in separation science. The main focus of this chapter is to demonstrate a hands-on approach to preparative gas chromatography (Prep-GC) t ...
Preparative HPLC (prep-HPLC) has emerged as a mainstay of natural products isolation and purification. The various modes available to date, e.g. normal phase, reversed-phase, size exclusion, and ion exchange, can be used to purify most classes of natural products. This chapter presents an ov ...
Bioinformatics is the rational study at an abstract level that can influence the way we understand biomedical facts and the way we apply the biomedical knowledge. Bioinformatics is facing challenges in helping with finding the relationships between genetic structures and functions, ...
We here describe the application of novel programs that allow definition of phylogenetic relationships in transport protein superfamilies. These programs are used to provide information about the four major superfamilies of secondary carriers that include members that export ...
Transporter proteins are expressed throughout the human body in different vital organs. They play an important role to various extents in determining absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADME/Tox) properties of therapeutic molecules. Over the past de ...
Plasma membrane transporter proteins play an important role in taking up nutrients into and effluxing xenobiotics out of cells to sustain cell survival. In the last decade, a number of studies have shown that these physiologically important transporters affect absorption, distribu ...
Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) boasts many advantages over microarrays. For instance, very low amounts of total RNA are required to yield highly accurate and reproducible detection of transcript levels. As a consequence, qRT-PCR has become a popular technique for assessing gene e ...
Resistance to multiple drugs is a serious limitation to chemotherapy treatment of human cancers. In addition, many clinically useful drugs show limited uptake in the intestine and cannot gain access to the brain. Three multidrug efflux pumps of the ABC superfamily (P-glycoprotein/ABC ...
The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is the cellular structure between the blood flowing through the brain and the parenchymal tissues of the brain. This physiological barrier is formed by the endothelial cells of the capillary walls. It exquisitely regulates the passage of substances into and out ...
Vesicular monoamine transporters (VMATs) are involved in the presynaptic packaging of monoaminergic neurotransmitters into storage granules. Upon an action potential, vesicles release their contents into the synaptic cleft via exocytosis. Since insufficient or excess re ...
Flow cytometry can sensitively detect and efficiently sort cells based on fluorescent signals integrated into cellular markers of proteins or DNA. It has been broadly applied to assess cell division, apoptosis and to isolate cells including stem cells. As the seeds for tumorigenesis and m ...
Since the advent of solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) in the late 1950s, numerous advancements in the underlying chemistry (i.e., orthogonal protection strategy, coupling reagents, and solid support matrices) have greatly improved the efficiency of the technique. More recentl ...
A robust high-throughput and high-fidelity screening platform for identifying and validating potential target molecules is the key for drug development. During the past decade, microarray platforms have demonstrated enormous potential for developing robust tools for small m ...
The use of fluorescent (or luminescent) and metal contrast agents in high-throughput screens, in vitro assays, and molecular imaging procedures has rapidly expanded in recent years. Here we describe the development and utility of high-affinity ligands for cancer theranostics and oth ...
Fetal pharmacotherapy generally relies on nonspecific biodistribution of therapeutic agents to the unborn child following drug administration into the maternal circulation system. Physiologically, transfer of polar, high-molecular weight solutes across the placenta ...
The MTT colorimetric assay is an established method of determining viable cell number in proliferation and cytotoxicity studies. This assay is based on the cleavage of the yellow tetrazolium salt, MTT, to form a soluble blue formazan product by mitochondrial enzymes, and the amount of formaz ...
Biologically reactive intermediates are formed following metabolism of xenobiotics, and during normal oxidative metabolism. These reactive species are electrophilic in nature and are capable of forming stable adducts with target proteins. These covalent protein modific ...
Biological reactive intermediates can be created via metabolism of xenobiotics during the process of chemical elimination. They can also be formed as by-products of cellular metabolism, which produces reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. These reactive intermediates tend to be e ...
Xenobiotics, including therapeutic agents, can produce a variety of beneficial, as well as adverse, effects in mammals. One potential source of drug-mediated toxicity stems from metabolic activation of the parent compound, typically catalyzed by one or more members of the cytochrome P ...
The embryonic zebrafish model offers the power of whole-animal investigations (e.g., intact organism, functional homeostatic feedback mechanisms, and intercellular signaling) with the convenience of cell culture (e.g., cost- and time-efficient, minimal infrastructure, sm ...
