Newsletter Archive

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us at Boster! May peace, prosperity, and happiness be yours throughout the holidays and new year.

To best serve the research communities where suitable antibodies are hard to find, Boster provides a special discounted custom antibody production service for researchers who use non-mammalian models such as Zebrafish, Drosophila, C. elegans, and Yeast.

Our December edition of Research Spotlight features 10 recent research discoveries from scientists whom Boster has served.

Join us at the San Diego Convention Center from December 8-12 for the 2018 ASCB|EMBO Meeting.

Flow cytometry is a popular cell biology technique that utilizes laser-based technology to count, sort, and profile cells in a heterogeneous fluid mixture. It is a powerful tool that allows simultaneous multiparametric analysis of the physical and chemical characteristics of up to thousands of particles per second.

This Thursday will be Thanksgiving Day in America. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for being a subscriber.

B-cells (or B lymphocytes) are a category of white blood cells that express clonally diverse B-cell receptors (BCRs) which recognize specific antigenic epitopes. B lymphocytes also play a critical role in the adaptive humoral immune system by producing and secreting antigen-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) (generally referred as antibodies).

At Boster, our customers’ research is our priority. Our mission is to help customers achieve their research goals so that they can stay on the cutting edge of research.

Join us at the San Diego Convention Center from November 3-7 for the Society of Neuroscience 2018 Annual Meeting.

The common problem for all fluorescence-based cell detection methods is the cells’ natural fluorescence. Cellular autofluorescence is due to the presence of various biological structures, such as collagen, elastin, NADPH, flavins, mitochondria, and lysosomes, which usually absorb in UV to blue range (355-488 nm) and emit in the blue to green range (350-550 nm). Therefore, autofluorescence interferes with analysis by reducing signal sensitivity and resolution of fluorochromes that operate in that range – FITC, GFP, and Pacific Blue to name a few.

Allergies are when the body’s immune system has a hypersensitive reaction towards innocuous substances called allergens. Common allergens include dust mites, pollen, mold, food, and animal dander, which could trigger allergic disorders such as allergic asthma, hay fever, allergic rhinitis, anaphylaxis, allergic conjunctivitis, and contact dermatitis. When a susceptible individual is newly exposed to an allergen, the immune system undergoes allergic sensitization.

The ELISA is one of the most commonly performed bioassays that produces qualitative, semi-quantitative, and quantitative data. In order to obtain quantitative ELISA data, constructing the ELISA standard curve is an important and crucial process to estimate the target protein concentrations for your samples.

In 2018, more than 266,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, over 40,000 women will die from breast cancer this year. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in American women. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the US and worldwide, regardless of race or ethnicity.

Boster now offers 1300+ rabbit monoclonal antibodies validated for many applications including flow cytometry, IP, IF, IHC, ICC, WB, and ELISAs. The rabbit immune system has historically been useful for generating a larger diversity of high affinity antibodies, including phospho-peptides, carbohydrates, and immunogens not immunogenic in mouse.

The ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) is recognized by scientists for its many advantages. The assay is convenient, quick, and simple to execute. ELISA’s versatility to detect peptides, proteins, antibodies, and hormones, and its ability to generate quantitative and qualitative data make it one of the most popular and powerful immunoassays available.

T cells are a category of lymphocytes that differ from other lymphocytes because of the unique T cell receptor (TCR) present on the cell surface. Together with co-receptors (CD4 for helper T cells and CD8 for cytotoxic T cells), the TCR enables T cells to detect and react to peptide antigens, which are pathogens digested by antigen presenting cells (APCs) and displayed on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules.

September is World Alzheimer’s Month, an international campaign to raise dementia awareness and challenge stigma, and the purple ribbon is the chosen color to represent awareness for Alzheimer’s disease. The impact of this campaign is growing, but the stigmatization and misinformation that surrounds dementia remains a global issue.

Picoband™ antibodies are designed and screened using Boster's proprietary optimization system, which enables the antibodies to react to the target protein with high affinity and ensure minimum cross-reactivity with its family members and other sources of non-specific binding.

Boster is now offering 12" x 18" FREE printed posters for our top 3 popular pathway maps . Click the button below to provide your shipping address and we’ll send the beautiful poster to your lab!

With 25+ years of experience, Boster provides PicoKine™ ELISA kits powered by proprietary signal-enhancing blocking technology. These ELISA kits can detect antigens in the pg/ml range with low background.

CTLA4 (cytotoxic T-lymphocyte–associated antigen 4, aka CD152) is a transmembrane protein member of the immunoglobin superfamily. This protein receptor plays a key role in downregulating immune responses (e.g. inhibit T-cell activation). Its expression relies on the stimulation of TCR and the binding between CD28 and B7 (B7-1/CD80 & B7-2/CD86), which both promote T-cell activation.

This Saturday, July 28th, is World Hepatitis Day, an annual international awareness event for the over half a billion people globally affected by hepatitis. World Hepatitis Day is one of the eight official WHO health days that is supported by many organizations such as the World Hepatitis Alliance, HHS, and CDC.

First described in 1979, the technique of western blotting has since become one of the most commonly used analytical methods in life science research. Just last week, we received a few questions from confused researchers about weird band sizes in their western blot results.

Our team of experts is dedicated to provide services that are tailored to your needs and specifications. We are committed to being transparent about the timeline, the costs involved, and the progress of your project. A project manager will be assigned to your project to answer all your questions.

At Boster, one common question we get from researchers is, “How do I prepare the ELISA standard?” We’re glad you asked because proper construction of the standard curve is the very first step for every ELISA experiment. The standard curve can help confirm that the quality of the kit and the operation procedures are acceptable for further steps.

Boster proudly offers a full range of buffers, reagents, and kits for everyday lab use. Save up to 99% compared to leading brands such as Thermo and Sigma, with equivalent product performance.

Caspases are a family of cysteine proteases that respond in succession when activated by apoptosis stimuli, leading to proteolysis, cell disassembly, and apoptosis. The caspase cascade can be triggered by stimuli from the cell surface or the mitochondria. Pro-apoptotic stimuli, such as TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor), FasL (Fas Ligand), GRB (Growth Factor Receptor-Bound Protein), Granzyme-B, DNA damage, calcium channels, etc.

Boster offers the full range of reagents one needs for performing PCR for molecular biology downstream applications. From extraction and purification of DNA and RNA to polymerase chain reaction and reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR), Boster provides convenient solutions to save your time and maximize reproducibility.

Boster is proud to offer ELISA kits for oxidative stress, inflammation, stress hormones and other small molecules. Our kits provide a sensitive, reproducible, and standardized tool for assaying samples such as plasma, serum, and cell culture supernates. Kit components include the necessary reagents for conveniently measuring specific target indicators of oxidative stress and inflammation colorimetrically.

Cytokines are a large category of signaling molecules (~5–20 kDa) acting as immunomodulating agents for autocrine signaling, paracrine signaling, and endocrine signaling. These small proteins are produced by a broad range of cells, which include macrophages, B-Cells, T-Cells, basophils, mast cells, etc.

We’re always trying to better manage our lab budget. Start off by checking the prices of your lab reagents!

Join us in Austin, TX for the leading annual all-immunology event worldwide! Be sure to stop by Booth #829 and pick up some pathway posters, technical resources, and your very own Dr. Booster plush doll. Discover new techniques and resources that can benefit your research!

Choosing the right antibody can get complicated, so it’s not surprising that customers frequently ask us questions like this: “If this antibody is validated for human, will it cross react with rat too?” In this technical blog, we review the concept of cross-reactivity, go through the basic steps for determining antibody cross-reactivity, and provide an example. Read on to learn more.

Boster's ELISA kits for detection of hormones, small molecules, oxidative stress, and inflammatory cytokines are now available. Search your targets including: 8-OHdG (DNA damage), HSP70, Cortisol, Insulin, Proinsulin, Estradiol, Testosterone, Progesterone, T3, T4, and more. Each of our ELISA kits contain sufficient reagents for 96 tests (with removable strips), and has been validated for a wide range of samples, including cell culture supernate, serum, plasma, cell lysate and tissue. Choose from a variety of antigens, proteins and peptides, including IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, EGF, VEGF and various cytokines. With more than 25 years of experience and citations from 20,000+ publications, Boster is proud to help accelerate scientific discovery in research areas such as immunology, neuroscience and cancer. Get better results with Boster.

In normal conditions, mutated antigens from tumor cells will lead to the activation of T cells that bind to and trigger apoptosis in target cancer cells. On the surface of T cells are PD-1 (programmed cell death-1) receptors whose ligands include PD-L1 and PD-L2. Together, PD-1 and PD-L1/PD-L2 are involved with inhibiting T cell response so that the immune response is only initiated when necessary, avoiding chronic autoimmune inflammation. However, tumor cells have utilized the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway to resist anticancer immune responses by producing abnormally high levels of PD-L1. When the PD-L1 ligands bind to the PD-1 receptors on T cells, the T cells become deactivated and anti-tumor activity is obstructed.

Boster Bio will be attending 2 exciting events this month! Be sure to visit our booths to meet Team Boster and take home our cuddly mascot, Dr. Booster. First up is the AACR Annual Meeting in Chicago from April 14-18. Then from April 22-25, Boster will be at Experimental Biology 2018, the annual meeting of five societies comprised of more than 14,000 scientists and 25 guest societies. Learn more about these 2 impactful yearly gatherings.

Sample fixation is a required and crucial step for every successful IHC/ICC experiment. Choosing which fixing solution to use depends on your sample type and antigen. Since there is no standard fixing solution for all samples, we recommend testing to determine which specific type of solution will be most appropriate and effective for antigen immobilization in your sample. Read on to learn more about IHC and ICC fixation.

In 1993, Dr. Steven Xia founded our company with a focus on IHC related applications. Today, Boster offers over 16,000 antibodies, 1,000 PicoKine™ ELISA kits and 4,000 recombinant proteins and has been cited in over 20,000 publications worldwide. Over the decades, our customers spoke highly of the Boster quality, good service and dependability. We can custom test our products and guarantee our products will work not only in our internal QC tests, but for your applications. We promise to bring certainty to your research and take some worries off your shoulders. Cheers to 25 years of serving scientists!

Cancer stem cells (CSCs), also known as tumor-initiating cells (TICs), are a subpopulation of cancer cells that possess the self-renewal and multi/pluripotency properties similar to that of normal stem cells. They have been identified to be tumorigenic and linked with inducing metastasis. Several molecular signaling pathways are associated with governing stem cell homeostasis. Normally, these pathways are highly regulated. However, an increasing number of these signaling pathways have been discovered to become dysfunctional in CSCs, which include the JAK/STAT, Hedgehog, Wnt, Notch, NF-κB, PI3K and PTEN signaling pathways. In certain cases, cross-talk between different pathways contribute to CSC population maintenance. Download the pathway map poster to learn more.

Taking place in San Antonio, Texas, March 11–15, 2018, the SOT Annual Meeting will feature 2,000+ presenters and 170 Scientific Sessions. Over 6,500 attendees are anticipated for the event! Join us in creating a safer and healthier world by advancing the science of toxicology. Try our fun quiz to win a prize!

To set up a standard curve, ELISA standards should be carefully prepared for accurate sample quantification of the target protein. We’ve provided some guidelines for you to consider when preparing ELISA standards. In this technical blog, you will learn what kind of standard you should choose, what the standard curve range should typically be, and how to properly prepare the standard dilutions.

Happy Valentine's and Chinese New Year! Boster Bio wishes everyone great fortune and continued success. Remember to check out our 2018 promotions!

Apoptosis (aka programmed cell death) is a cell suicide mechanism that is activated through the mitochondria due to cell stress (intrinsic pathway) or initiated via death receptors that sense extracellular death signals through ligand binding (extrinsic pathway). Click to learn more and download your Apoptosis Death Receptors & Cellular Apoptosis Pathway Maps.

In the lab, researchers invest time and effort to optimize the sample preparation and sample staining processes of IHC. When successful, the results produce a strong and specific signal. However, how do we know the results have been interpreted correctly? When designing your IHC experiment, it is crucial to include positive and negative controls. The controls will help verify whether or not the IHC staining results observed are accurate and valid while exposing experimental artefacts. Read on to find out the 6 established controls for IHC!

Check out this week’s newsletter to download your Nanog Mammalian ESC Pluripotency Pathway and Alzheimer's Disease Pathway Maps. Globally, there are millions of people suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. Learn more about this devastating illness today.