With her colleagues from around the world, she is designing techniques to better characterize complex
molecules in biological samples, atmospheric aerosols, and biofuels, work critical for a secure energy future.
Sequencing the
RNA in a biological sample can unlock a wealth of information, including the identity of bacteria and viruses, the nuances of alternative splicing or the transcriptional state of organisms.
«We now have these pretty accurate, sensitive, and specific molecular assays to detect very few numbers of
organisms in biological samples,» said Dong Jin Shin, one of the abstract's authors and a PhD student at Johns Hopkins.
Furthermore, we have developed a robust and sensitive method that allows us to study the
dimers in any biological sample,» explain Aurelio Vázquez de la Torre, a member of Natàlia Carulla's team, and Marina Gay, who works in the Mass Spectrometry Platform.
RNA - seq is a next - generation, highly sensitive sequencing technique that reveals how much RNA there is
in a biological sample at a given moment and under a certain condition — in the presence of nanoparticles, for example.
Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) represent a challenge for bioanalytical scientists, due to their inherent heterogeneity (i.e., different Drug - to - Antibody Ratios), high molecular weight, presence in complex biological matrices and changes in ADC
composition in biological samples.
But the sensor has a major shortcoming that prevents it from being used to detect biologically important peptides — such as neurotransmitters or fragments of viral coat proteins —
in biological samples: It doesn't work in water, the milieu of life.
«Metabolomics, the analysis of small molecules
in biological samples, has revealed numerous abnormalities in the blood of uremic patients, whose kidneys are unable to eliminate the body's waste products.
The determination of toxic metals
in the biological samples of human beings is an important clinical screening procedure.Evaluation of Toxic Metals in Biological Samples (Scalp Hair, Blood and Urine) of Steel Mill Workers by Electrothermal Atomic Adsorption Spectrometry.