FlowCam - Flow Imaging Microscopy Blog

Congratulations to Nicholas Ray from the Fulweiler Lab at Boston University for completing his PhD. and presenting his thesis seminar 'virtually' on Monday, March 23rd. Nick’s work focuses on how the restoration of oyster reefs affects coastal nutrient cycling and greenhouse gas emissions, and drew an audience of over 100 people. We have had the privilege of getting to know Nick in the years since he received a Fluid Imaging Student Research & Travel Grant in 2016.

A research group at Iowa State University is studying the use of Magnetic Ionic Liquids (MILs) as a tool to isolate foodborne pathogens in liquid suspensions. Previously, they showed the ability of MILs to capture a species of Salmonella.

Their new work, published in the current issue of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, extends the previous work on MILs to the capture of several Gram-negative bacteria of importance to food, agricultural and clinical testing, including subspecies of Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7.

Aker BioMarine (ABM) is a biotech, fishing, marine research and krill harvesting company. They recently purchased a FlowCam for use on their krill harvesting vessel, the Antarctic Endurance.  They plan to use the FlowCam to monitor the phytoplankton that the krill eat, in order to maintain a sustainable krill fishery.  

VisualSpreadsheet 5 image analysis software (ViSp 5) represents a new platform for FlowCam data organization. Introduced in 2019, our upgraded software moves away from a simple hierarchy of folders and instead utilizes a database structure.

Biopharma labs working in drug development will be excited to learn about the module for fully-integrated compliance with 21 CFR Part 11 regulations mandated by the US FDA.

Injectable biopharmaceuticals, particularly prefilled syringes (PFS), come with risks related to the force of injection, such as patient pain and anxiety. The injection force can often be especially high with PFSs, due to the high viscosity of the contained substances.

"In clinical practice, injection pressure is commonly estimated by the injection force, which is a measure of effort required by the user during depression of the plunger on a delivery device. Previous studies have suggested that low exerted injection force was consistent with improved patient convenience and ease of injection."

Terumo Corporation has recently developed a tapered injection needle in the hopes that it will reduce the force of injection and improve the patient experience.

***COVID-19 UPDATE***  This list is actively changing, as many conferences are choosing to postpone or cancel. Please refer to our website to see an up-to-date schedule. 

Between now and June you'll find Fluid Imaging at the following events:

Pittcon

AIChE's 2020 Frontiers in Particle Science and Technology

AADE's Fluids 2020

AAPS-NERDG Annual Meeting

Drug Development Networking Summit

Powder & Bulk Solids

NYSCC Suppliers' Day

Biotherapeutics Analytical Summit

Keep reading to learn more about each conference. We hope we'll see you on the road!

West Pharmaceutical Laboratories (Exton, PA) recently published a paper on a streamlined bioanalytical approach to determine the most appropriate primary container system early in drug development. Given the importance of monitoring biological drug and container interactions to ensure drug and patient safety, it is necessary to consider multiple variables when determining drug packaging systems.

***COVID-19 UPDATE***  This list is actively changing, as many conferences are choosing to postpone or cancel. Please refer to our website to see an up-to-date schedule. 

Harry and Savannah (and Frances too) can't hide their excitement about our spring conference schedule! Here's where you can find us between now and June. Don't forget to bring a water sample, and we'll analyze it for you right in our booth.

Nick Ray (PhD Candidate) and Gretchen McCarthy (Senior) from the Boston University Marine Program (BUMP) came to visit our FlowCam lab in Scarborough this week. Nick Ray had used a FlowCam in 2016 in Dr. Robinson Fulweiler's lab when he was a recipient of our Student Equipment Grant. Gretchen has worked in this lab since she was a freshman. She's planning to begin graduate school next year and will focus her studies on fisheries and aquaculture.

A research group with CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography in Kochi, India (https://www.nio.org/), has used the FlowCam^® to provide new evidence that temporal changes in the coastal waters of the Southeastern Arabian Sea (SEAS) cause size and structure changes in micro-plankton communities. Nutrient-rich coastal areas typically produce large-sized phytoplankton, and nutrient-depleted waters tend to produce smaller phytoplankton. These variations in plankton size can impact the food web, and therefore the economics of the area, where fishing is an important socioeconomic activity.