Journal roundup

Cell-based biosensors

Cell-based biosensors can be applied in environmental monitoring, drug screening as well as for clinical diagnostics. Compared to molecular-based biosensors, cell-based biosensors mimic physiological situations more closely, show enhanced specificity and sensitivity, and can detect unknown compounds and toxins. Current limitations include weak cell-substrate attachment, the 2D cell microenvironment, and limited shelf life. To address these limitations, one can encapsulate cells in hydrogels to provide a 3D environment, which can be combined with novel biomaterials and microtechnologies. TianJian Lu, Feng Xu (Xi'an Jiaotong University, China) and collaborators present the state of the art in hydrogel-based cell-based biosensor development and review remaining challenges as well as potential solutions to these problems.

Zhu et al. Biotechnol J 2011;6:1466–1476.

ErbB network model for personalized medicine

Determining which patients will benefit from a given treatment remains one of the most challenging problems in oncology. With the increase in molecular-targeted therapies, many drugs fail in clinical trials because they are applied broadly rather than to just the subset of cancer patients most likely to respond. In this study, Prasasya, Vang, and Kreeger tackle the question of how to use molecular information to identify the sensitive group. Through quantitative experiments and mathematical modeling, they identify a multivariate function linking protein-level expression of ErbB receptors and ligands to sensitivity to an ErbB kinase inhibitor in ovarian cancer cells. Examination of the successful models demonstrated that ErbB ligands were more informative than ErbB receptors in predicting cell response. Through model analysis they identify a minimal signature of only three proteins needed to predict sensitivity, suggesting this approach could be implemented clinically.

Prasasya, Vang, and Kreeger. Biotechnol Bioeng 2011;109:213–224.