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| Non-contact LCM Technology from Carl Zeiss |
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 | | Prof. Dr. Alfred Vogel, Institute for Biomedical Optics, University of Lübeck, Germany
Professor Alfred Vogel has been studying the effects of lasers on biological tissues successfully for a number of years.
» The Laser Microdissection technology from Carl Zeiss is becoming increasingly important in scientific research because it greatly simplifies a range of biotechnical techniques – indeed, it has made many of them possible at all. « |
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 | | Dr. Alexander Buchner, Grosshadern Medical Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
» We are working on renal cell carcinoma, which is responsible for about 2% of all cancer cases and shows an increasing incidence.
The methodological combination of laser microdissection with PALM MicroBeam and transcriptome analysis allows a comprehensive analysis of gene expression on precisely defined cell material without data bias caused by irrelevant tissue fractions. This technology is an important starting point for progress in tumor biology and will help to find new applications in diagnosis, assessment of prognosis and in therapy. « |
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 | | Dr. rer. nat. Olaf J. C. Hellwinkel, Head of Molecular Biology, Martini-Klinik at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany
» We studied gene activities of various important members of the PIK3-PKB-pathway for alterations in prostate carcinoma (PCA). By quantitative realtime PCRs, we analyzed transcript levels of 12 genes in laser microdissected tumour tissues from 20 patients of varying stages for differences compared to adjacent normal tissues and a pool of prostate tissues from healthy controls. Laser microdissection is the enabling technology to separate defined tissue areas for downstream analysis and leads to relevant results. « |
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 | | Dr. Gabriela Cezar, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
» The heterogeneity observed in differentiating embryonic stem cells stands in the way of obtaining valid In-vitro models for drug discovery. Elimination of undesired cell types by genetic modification is complicated and extremely time-consuming. The innovative PALM MicroBeam technology enabled us to isolate relevant stem cell cultures quickly, precisely and effectively. As a result, pharmacological evaluations could be realized within a very short time frame. « |
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 | | Hellen C. Ishikawa, Max-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry, Germany
» I have been using the PALM MicroBeam very successfully. The application was isolation of individual GFP-transfected cells in a culture of double-mutant cells. Under these circumstances the transfection efficiency was very low and labelled cells were rare. In the past it has never been possible to purify and recultivate these cells by any method. However, with the LMPC technique of the PALM MicroBeam I was able to generate highly purified tranfected double-mutant cultures. «
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 | | Professor Dr. Helen M. Blau, Director Baxter Laboratory in Genetic Pharmacology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Stem Cell Institute
» Laser microdissection from Carl Zeiss represents a highly convenient method for the isolation and recovery of viable living cells from tissue culture. This fascinating process enables the analysis and re-cultivation of extremely sensitive primary or stem cell cultures without risk of dilution or the use of trypsination. In the simplest way you can generate entirely homogenous cultures – even from a single cell.« |
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 | | Dr. Uta Paszkowski, Université de Lausanne, Department de Biologie Moléculaire végétale, Biophore, Lausanne, Suisse
» For the study of complex processes such as tissue and cell colonization of plants by fungi it is desirable to focus on precise stages and/or celltypes involved in the interaction. The symbiotic association of plant roots with Glomeromycotan fungi includes the occurrence of distinct fungal structures in defined layers of the plant root, culminating in the intracellular formation of highly branched tree-like fungal hyphae. However the nonsynchronous fashion of the colonization so far has impaired the study of distinct stages of this interaction. LMPC permits the necessary spatial resolution for concentration on individual stages of the development of the process. Hence, cellular responses can be studied on subpopulations of cells collected from specific consecutive stages of an infection process. « |
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 | | Dr. Jindrich Novotny, State Office of Criminal Investigation, Munich, Germany
» We are using DNA-typing of classical stains like blood, saliva, sperm as well as hair and other type of traces, saved from crime scenes. We are developing novel techniques for isolation and analysis of even minute biological traces for proof at heavy delicts in the future. For this purpose we are using PALM MicroBeam technology to select and isolate cells for downstream analyses. This way we performed a DNA profiling study by STR analysis and got donor specific profiles even from minute amounts of material. « |
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 | | Prof. Dr. Stephan Seidl, Institute of Legal Medicine, University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
» We were the first group in Germany to use PALM MicroBeam for forensic sample collection. In the PALM Application Laboratory, we processed smear preparations from vaginal, sperm, and buccal cell swabs for downstream DNA profiling. Contact-free microscopic isolation and collection of single cells revealed to be the perfect process for sampling and analysis of these trace materials. As the PALM technology prevents sample contamination it is especially suited for forensic purposes. « |
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