Marion Paterson

Carbohydrate polymers as wound management aids

Wound management aids have, in recent years, seen a transition from being simple natural coverings which give a wound protection from the external environment during the formation of the scab to specialized high technology materials which are produced from both synthetic and natural polymers. Much of the development has resulted from a greater understanding of the processes involved in wound healing coupled with advances in technology to produce biocompatible materials with the necessary physical and chemical characteristics for enhancement of the healing process. Polysaccharides, being naturally occurring biomolecules, were an obvious choice for investigation as potential wound management aids. In recent years it was recognised that not only can polysaccharides be produced with the required physical characteristics for a wound management product but that the actual polysaccharide or polysaccharide derivative may itself actively participate in the process of wound healing. This paper sets out to review the various types of polysaccharides which were used as wound management aids, the physical forms in which they are used and also the biological properties of polysaccharides which enable them to participate actively in the wound healing process.

Antibody Engineering New Technologies, Applications & Commercialization Edited by C.A. Thibeault and L.M. Savage Biomedical Library Series, Southborough, 1996 Pp. 349

The vertebrate immune response generates a nearly limitless variety of specific protein – secreted antibodies and receptors in the plasma membranes of lymphocytes. Their role is to defend the organism against infections by viruses, bacteria, parasites, and probably the proliferation of tumor cells. Antibodies are remarkably diverse and not only must they provide enough different combining sites to recognize the millions of antigenic shapes in the environment, but also each class of antibody has a different effector region. One outstanding contribution to biological science in recent years has been the appearance of the collection of techniques targeted towards understanding the relationship of antibody structure to function. This is generally known collectively as antibody engineering. Rapid innovations in this field have led to the ability to obtain novel antibody reagents that may enter the therapeutic arena for diagnosis and treatment of a variety of diseases. ‘Antibody Engineering’ represents a collection of transcripts from the International Business Communications Conference on ‘Antibody Engineering: New Technology; Application & Commercialization’, held at La Jolla, CA, USA. It contains informative presentations by internationally known experts, as well as coverage of in-depth delegate discussion sessions. The book comprises six sections which are related to antibody phage library technologies; antibodies for diagnostics and imaging, novel engineering technologies, methods for antibody production; and therapeutic antibodies. The last section covers the poster presentations and includes the potential role of antibodies in the radioimmunotherapeutic control of solid tumors, recombinant antibodies and bispecific antibody therapy of human cancer. Each section provides interesting reference work of direct relevance for researchers in this field as well as for executives responsible for bringing products to market. It will probably be assessed by reference and borrowing rather than personal purchase because of its high price.

Molecular Biotechnology Therapeutic Applications and Strategies S. Maulik and S. D. Patel Wiley-Liss, 1997 Pp. xx + 223, ISBN 0-471-11681-5

The vertebrate immune response generates a nearly limitless variety of specific protein – secreted antibodies and receptors in the plasma membranes of lymphocytes. Their role is to defend the organism against infections by viruses, bacteria, parasites, and probably the proliferation of tumor cells. Antibodies are remarkably diverse and not only must they provide enough different combining sites to recognize the millions of antigenic shapes in the environment, but also each class of antibody has a different effector region. One outstanding contribution to biological science in recent years has been the appearance of the collection of techniques targeted towards understanding the relationship of antibody structure to function. This is generally known collectively as antibody engineering. Rapid innovations in this field have led to the ability to obtain novel antibody reagents that may enter the therapeutic arena for diagnosis and treatment of a variety of diseases. ‘Antibody Engineering’ represents a collection of transcripts from the International Business Communications Conference on ‘Antibody Engineering: New Technology; Application & Commercialization’, held at La Jolla, CA, USA. It contains informative presentations by internationally known experts, as well as coverage of in-depth delegate discussion sessions. The book comprises six sections which are related to antibody phage library technologies; antibodies for diagnostics and imaging, novel engineering technologies, methods for antibody production; and therapeutic antibodies. The last section covers the poster presentations and includes the potential role of antibodies in the radioimmunotherapeutic control of solid tumors, recombinant antibodies and bispecific antibody therapy of human cancer. Each section provides interesting reference work of direct relevance for researchers in this field as well as for executives responsible for bringing products to market. It will probably be assessed by reference and borrowing rather than personal purchase because of its high price.

Recovery of Proteins from Whey Using Chitosan as a Coagulant

In recent years the attitude towards whey proteins has changed and they are no longer considered as waste products, but rather as valuable nutrients that can be used in the food industry. A study of the effectiveness of chitosan as a coagulant for removing proteins from whey elucidated the conditions at which chitosan operates most efficiently. Such factors as optimum dosage, pH of reaction, time of mixing and sedimentation rates were studied. The highest recovery of proteins from whey was ca. 40%, estimated by amino acid analysis.