Angelo DePalma, PhD
Articles by Angelo DePalma, PhD

Cell culture today presents a subtle paradox. Coaxing cells to produce biopharmaceuticals, vitamins, and industrial products requires inserting foreign genes and adapting cells to artificial growth conditions.

Most drug discovery efforts begin with a biological target—the molecule inside the body whose activity the drug is expected to enhance or diminish. Assurance that the target is pharmacologically accessible and responsible in some way for the disease in question is based on target validation studies.

Renewed interest in cell biology has created the need for techniques that efficiently disrupt cells’ outer membranes while sparing their contents.

To most lab workers, even those who spend much of their days at or near fume hoods, these safety enclosures are part of the furniture or infrastructure. A hood is a hood is a hood—except when processes require special services or utilities. While many hoods are indeed production-level, off-the-shelf products, almost any productivity- or safety-enhancing feature may be added to standard models.


















