Webinars


Past Webinars

Accelerating insights into changes in binding affinity of biomolecular charge variants using a simple icIEF fractionation and SPR workflow

Presenters: 

Michael Piazza, PhD, Director of Applications Development – Nicoya Lifesciences
Chris Heger, PhD, Director, Applications Science – Bio-Techne

Charge heterogeneity in monoclonal antibodies can negatively impact binding affinity and potency, so it is critical to ensure that individual charge variants of biotherapeutic molecules are thoroughly characterized to ensure product quality. Dr. Chris Heger (Bio-Techne) and Dr. Michael Piazza (Nicoya Lifesciences) will illustrate a fast, simple icIEF fractionation and digital SPR workflow that provides in-depth characterization of the charge variants of a therapeutic bispecific antibody (BsAb) Mosunetuzumab and a research-grade biosimilar. Using a combination of the MauriceFlex™ system and Alto™ Digital SPR, they demonstrate a novel method that utilizes imaged capillary isoelectric focusing (icIEF)-based charge separation and fractionation following by binding affinity analysis using surface plasmon resonance, offering a robust and efficient approach to evaluating charge variants. Prior LC-MS analysis of the fractions uncovered interesting differences between the two molecules. The speakers will show how the high-purity fractions of both the innovator drug and a research-grade biosimilar were analyzed by SPR for binding studies with their ligands CD3 and CD20, revealing notable differences in binding affinity, particularly between the biosimilar’s acidic peak and ligand CD20.

What You Will Learn:

  • How to set up a simplified workflow that uses (icIEF)-based charge separation and fractionation followed by digital SPR for deeper insights into charge variant binding affinity.
  • How leveraging these two benchtop platforms can uncover critical differences between a therapeutic mAb and its biosimilar.
  • What additional context can be gained on these charge variant differences using mass spectrometry analysis.
Headshot of Daryl Good

Optimizing nucleic acid and antibody binding assays with SPR: Proven approaches and practical insights​

Presenters: 

Daryl Good, PhD, Sr. Staff Customer Success Scientist – Nicoya Lifesciences
Eliza Hanson, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate – Rowan University

In collaboration with ACROBiosystems, Nicoya’s Alto digital surface plasmon resonance (SPR) system was utilized to characterize the binding kinetics of several transmembrane proteins in detergent, nanodisc, and virus‑like particle (VLP) formats. This webinar will showcase how the Alto digital SPR system provides high‑quality data on challenging membrane protein candidates while significantly reducing sample consumption and time to results. 

Through this collaboration, researchers and pharmaceutical developers gain access to advanced technologies that enable the production, stabilization and precise characterization of challenging transmembrane protein interactions, accelerating the development of novel therapeutics and unlocking new frontiers in therapeutic targeting.

Binding affinity measurements of nucleic acids and antibodies interacting with target proteins are important parts of the research processes involved in oncology, immunology, vaccine development, and other biomedical research areas. Developing reliable assays can be challenging, especially for researchers new to these techniques. This webinar will provide insights into efficient approaches for measuring biomolecular interactions using OpenSPR®, a label-free SPR platform known for its ease of use and cost-effectiveness.

Attendees will explore how OpenSPR has been successfully applied in a variety of life science research areas through peer-reviewed studies and real-world examples. We will offer practical tips for nucleic acid and antibody binding assays that can help researchers hit the ground running.

What You Will Learn:

  • Practical applications and success stories of nucleic acid and antibody assays
  • How to leverage OpenSPR for accurate binding affinity and kinetics measurements

Label-free characterization of challenging transmembrane proteins using Alto™ digital SPR​

Presenters: 

Michael Piazza, PhD, Director of Applications Development – Nicoya Lifesciences
Anil Kumar, PhD, Head of CMC in Europe – ACROBiosystems

In collaboration with ACROBiosystems, Nicoya’s Alto digital surface plasmon resonance (SPR) system was utilized to characterize the binding kinetics of several transmembrane proteins in detergent, nanodisc, and virus‑like particle (VLP) formats. This webinar will showcase how the Alto digital SPR system provides high‑quality data on challenging membrane protein candidates while significantly reducing sample consumption and time to results. 

Through this collaboration, researchers and pharmaceutical developers gain access to advanced technologies that enable the production, stabilization and precise characterization of challenging transmembrane protein interactions, accelerating the development of novel therapeutics and unlocking new frontiers in therapeutic targeting.

What You Will Learn:

  • Discover Nicoya’s cutting-edge digital SPR platform Altoâ„¢, which is revolutionizing the analytical development of biologically relevant multi-pass transmembrane proteins and overcoming industry challenges.
  • Learn about ACROBiosystems’ dynamic suite of stabilized multi-pass TPs, featuring key therapeutic targets like CD20, Claudin18.2, CD133, and more.
  • Gain insights into the potential of leveraging Alto digital SPR and ACROBiosystems transmembrane proteins for developing novel therapeutics for cellular and genetic disorders.

Introduction to Digital SPR and its use in assessing the binding kinetics of DART (Drugs Acutely Restricted by Tethering).

Presenters: 

Michael Piazza, PhD, Director of Applications Development – Nicoya Lifesciences
Victoria Goldenshtein, PhD, Postdoctoral Associate – Duke University

Digital SPR (dSPR) is a next-generation technology for characterizing biomolecular interactions. By combining digital microfluidics (DMF) with localized SPR (LSPR), digital SPR systems can effectively bypass common challenges found in traditional SPR and BLI platforms.

Understanding drug mechanisms in complex systems, particularly in the brain, remains challenging despite advancements at the molecular level Yet, cell-specific technologies like DART provide a promising solution, enabling targeted drug delivery to genetically defined neuronal cell types, thereby allowing the observation of the drug effects on brain dynamics and animal behavior. (Shields et al., bioRxiv, 2022, Shields et al., Science, 2017).

The underlying principle of DART technology is the covalent interaction between a protein and its target chemical molecule. In this webinar, we will discuss the optimization of the covalent capture affinity of DART, and the subsequent functional analysis of binding kinetics, using dSPR.

What You Will Learn:

  • What digital SPR is and how it works.
  • See how data quality and throughput are maximized using the latest advances in digital SPR to eliminate artifacts, optimize accuracy, and automate tedious, error-prone sample preps.
  • See how researchers at Duke University utilize this technology to rapidly assess the binding kinetics of a covalent interaction between a biological ligand and its chemical analyte.
Headshot of Michael Piazza
Headshot of Daryl Good
Streamlining characterization of biomolecular binding kinetics with alto™ and openspr®

Presenters: 

Michael Piazza, PhD, Associate Director of Applications Development – Nicoya
Daryl Good, PhD, Senior Staff Customer Success Scientist – Nicoya
Livia Yuxiu, MSc, Product Manager – Nicoya

There is a growing need to streamline research workflows to get results faster and with greater throughput while minimizing effort at the bench, without compromising precision and accuracy. Equipped with user‑friendly interfaces that guide you from assay design to data analysis, our next gen SPR instruments Altoâ„¢ and OpenSPR® bring efficiency to biomolecular binding analysis.

Altoâ„¢ leverages digital microfluidics technology to automate high-throughput SPR analysis while enabling crude sample compatibility, ultra low sample volumes, and cloud-first software connection. OpenSPR® is an easy-to-use and cost effective platform with a proven track record, backed by over 300 peer-reviewed studies across research areas including immunology, oncology and infectious diseases.

Join us in a conversation with Daryl Good, Customer Success Manager, and Michael Piazza, Associate Director of Applications Development, as we delve into the applications of our Altoâ„¢ and OpenSPR® systems for streamlining biomolecular characterization, including affinity and kinetics analysis, epitope binning, library screening, and quantitation.   

What You Will Learn:

  • Overview of our technology
  • How Altoâ„¢ and OpenSPR® streamline research workflows 
  • Applications of our Alto and OpenSPR platforms for characterizing biomolecular interactions, including: affinity and kinetics analysis; epitope binning; library screening; and quantitation
Juliet Obi Headshot
Albert Serrano Headshot
Unlocking molecular determinants of virulence and transmission with surface plasmon resonance

Presenters: 

Juliet Obi, Pharmaceutical Sciences – University of Maryland, Baltimore
Albert Serrano, Biomedical Sciences – University of Central Florida
Hniang Khamh, PhD, Field Applications Scientist – Nicoya

In this webinar, we’re excited to put the spotlight on rising investigators of disease-causing pathogens. Featuring two case studies from PhD Candidates Juliet Obi and Albert Serrano, you’ll learn about the biophysical, biochemical and computational approaches they are investigating to better understand molecular determinants of virulence and pathogen transmission. 

What You Will Learn:

  • Current technologies advancing biomolecular research on infectious diseases
  • Incorporating structural and interaction studies to better understand critical virulence and transmission factors 
  • Novel studies being conducted by early investigators at UMB and UCF on viral replication and bacterial toxins
  • Advantages of quantitative binding studies with SPR for identifying and characterizing new therapeutic targets 
Detecting emerging viral variants through rapid antibody discovery and characterization

Presenters: 

Scott Dessain, MD, PhD, Founder, CSO  – OCMS Bio
Marko Jovic, PhD, Training and Development Manager – Nicoya

Viruses are known to be highly susceptible to mutations, often resulting in the emergence of variant strains. While some will disappear, others will persist and challenge our global healthcare system, just as we saw with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic is the most recent example of why rapid development of new detection strategies is more crucial than ever, especially when new variants demonstrate improved transmissibility or virulence. Co-presented by OCMS Bio and Nicoya Lifesciences, this webinar will present current strategies being applied in antibody discovery to accelerate the development of diagnostic tools for emerging viral variants.

Join us in a conversation with Scott Dessain (OCMS) and Marko Jovic (Nicoya), who will discuss the application of novel mAb screening technology and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for rapid discovery and characterization of variant-specific antibodies, and will delve into the future of immunodiagnostics.

What You Will Learn:

  • Challenges of emerging viral variants
  • New strategies for viral detection
  • Accelerating antibody discovery with rapid screening and characterization
  • Emerging technologies for mAb engineering
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Enter the Nicosystem

Presenters: 

Soleil Grisé, Sr. Product Manager – Nicoya
Adam Miles, Director, Product – Nicoya

Biospecific interactions play a major role in fundamental biological processes, and the advent of label-free detection tools has greatly enhanced our ability to characterize and better understand these biological systems. Yet, our ability to automate and scale our efforts has been limited by the need for a hands-on approach when it comes to understanding and optimizing the underlying biology.

What You Will Learn:

  • The most common questions asked by scientists analyzing biomolecular interactions 
  • The use of interaction matrices to better understand and visualize your interaction systems
  • How digital microfluidics and fibre optic biosensors work together to detect interactions in real time
  • How the Nicosystem automates your assay design to take away the guesswork and scale your throughput
  • The promise of digital microfluidics for intelligent optimization and real-time decision making   
Which Biomolecular Interaction Technique is best for your Research?

Presenters: 

Michael Piazza, Ph.D, Systems Integration Manager – Nicoya
Sajni Shah, Product Marketing Associate – Nicoya

Are you spending a lot of time and resources trying to determine which biomolecular interaction technique is best-suited for your research? Are experimental time and technical complexities associated with interaction techniques major factors in your consideration?

To help you navigate the many biomolecular interaction techniques available, we’ve organized this webinar to dive into which technique is best-suited  to your specific projects.

What You Will Learn: 

  • The latest advancements in biomolecular characterization methods
  • A comprehensive overview of interaction techniques – Co-IPs, MST, ITC, BLI, and SPR
  • The advantages of using SPR/LSPR over other techniques for biomolecular characterization
  • How our affordable, reliable and low maintenance SPR platforms can help you publish faster in high impact journals
  • How novel advancements in nanotechnology and microfluidics are advancing biologics discovery programs
Characterization and Selection of Antibodies for Covid-19 Diagnostics Using SPR

Presenters: 

Soleil Grisé, Sr. Product Manager – Nicoya
Michael Piazza, Ph.D, Systems Integration Manager – Nicoya
Rob Burgess, Ph.D, Chief Business Officer – Sino Biological

By January 2021, just over a year after the virus was first identified, there were over 100 million cases of COVID-19 reported worldwide and several viral variants in circulation. The unprecedented nature of the pandemic has magnified the need for accelerated scientific discoveries as researchers strive to bring novel therapeutics, vaccines and diagnostic solutions to market.

What You Will Learn:

  • Versatility & Flexibility: How the robustness and sensitivity of SPR makes it ideal for a wide range of biomolecular applications
  • Comprehensive workflows: The benefits of SPR-based characterization studies for accelerating lead time on novel COVID-19 solutions
  • Maximizing performance: How to develop a highly selective and specific antibody pair with SPR to optimize COVID-19 antigen detection
  • Looking ahead: The next generation of SPR platforms advancing label-free detection to address the unmet needs of infectious disease research
Accelerating Scientific Research During COVID-19: Laboratory Automation

Presenters:

Hannah Douglas, Sales Operations Rep. – Nicoya
Michael Born, Inside Sales Rep. – Nicoya
Alexandra Defazio, Sales Development Rep. – Nicoya

As a result of technological innovation and desire for improved efficiency, the world is becoming increasingly automated, there’s really no question about it and research labs are no exception. Heck, Alexa is more commonly known as a virtual assistant than a human name at this point. 

Automation allows for a reduction in human error, and allows for fewer people to run more experiments efficiently. As of recently, with physical-distancing guidelines implemented as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing the number of people in the lab has become of utmost importance to keep research flowing smoothly. 

What You Will Learn:

  • The history of lab automation, including some of the events that accelerated the innovation and the first example of a fully automated lab
  • Why automation is more accessible than you think
  • Examples of automation solutions you can implement today
two female scientists looking at vials
Navigating the Post-Covid Research Landscape

Presenters:

Aaron Sato, Ph.D, Chief Scientific Officer, Biopharma & VP, Protein Engineering – Twist Bioscience
Tonya Zeczycki, Ph.D, Assistant Professor  – East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine
Matthew Gage, Ph.D, Associate Professor, Principal Investigator – University of Massachusetts Lowell
Thorsten Dieckmann, Ph.D, Associate Professor & Associate Chair, Graduate Studies and Research – University of Waterloo

Are you preparing to return to your lab, or are you in the middle of figuring out how to scale up your workflow? It is no question that researchers returning to the lab are facing challenges unlike ever before, as they navigate a new research landscape that continues being shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Staying connected to your team, keeping up with new safety protocols, and managing uncertainty about your funding are just a few of the many challenges you are now having to overcome.

What You Will Learn:

  • Create a foolproof plan of action for your return to the lab
  • Effectively adapt to changing lab protocols and regulations
  • Stay connected with your team throughout the transition
  • Manage your budget and maximize funding opportunities
  • Be forward thinking on how the scientific community will change