Becton Dickinson and Company Limited

Catherine A Spargo

Mohammad A Heidaran

Perry D Haaland

Robert L Campbell

Michael C Little

George T Walker

Melinda S Fraiser

Mark Van Cleve

Jamie H Wilkins

James G Nadeau

John Jacob Hemperly

Colleen M Nycz

Andrea Liebmann-Vinson

Richard David Guarino

David J Wright

Cheryl H Dean

David James Wright

The present invention provides specific peptides identified as having cell adhesion, growth, expression or secretion-enhancing activities. Many of the peptides of the invention may be produced in large quantity by such means as chemical synthesis or recombinant DNA methodology. They may be non-specifically adsorbed, or chemically attached to a surface or, alternatively, formulated in a culture medium to produce the desired effect on cultured cells.

Peptides promoting cell adherence, growth and secretion

The invention provides a method and apparatus for determining the presence or absence of respiring cells, involving combining a three-dimensional biomimetic scaffold and cells onto a sensor composition.

Method for determining the presence or absence of respiring cells on a three-dimensional scaffold

Methods for determining quantities of nucleic acid sequences in samples undergoing amplification utilize amplification ratio estimates (R*) in operations to accurately perform absolute quantitation even when amplification factors for the target and control sequences undergoing amplification are different, time dependent or vary as a function of starting concentrations of nucleic acid sequences. These operations also take into account conversion efficiencies associated with the conversion of probes upon generation of target or control amplicons, but do not require the explicit calculation of such efficiencies. The operations also recognize that a preferred R* should be determined based on a preferred statistical criterion to improve quantitation. In addition, the use of standard samples having known starting concentrations of target and control sequences therein may enable accurate absolute quantitation without the explicit calculation of amplification ratio estimates.

Methods, apparatus and computer program products for determining

Strand Displacement Amplification methods (thermophilic SDA) which can be performed over a broad temperature range (37.degree. C. to 70.degree. C.). The preferred temperature range for thermophilic SDA is 50.degree. C. to 70.degree. C. It has been found that certain thermophilic restriction endonucleases are capable of nicking the hemimodified restriction endonuclease recognition/cleavage site as required by SDA and dissociating from the site. It has further been found that certain thermophilic polymerases are capable of extending from the nick while displacing the downstream strand. Thermophilic SDA, because of reaction temperatures higher than previously possible with conventional SDA enzyme systems, has improved specificity and efficiency, reduced nonspecific background amplification, and potentially improved yields of amplification products. In addition, the need to add the enzymes in a separate step after the initial heat denaturation of double stranded targets is eliminated when enzymes capable of tolerating the denaturation temperature are used.

Strand displacement amplification using thermophilic enzymes

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Apex, NC, United States of America

Catherine A Spargo