Using Bicyclomycin to Treat Drug-Resistant Bacterial Infections Stating that antibiotics, first discovered in 1928 and commercially used by the 1940s, brought an unprecedented change to the world is not an overstatement. For decades now we have routinely cured illnesses and infections that were previously life-threatening. In recent years, however, bacterial infections have increasingly grown resistant to antibiotics. According to the...

The SUnSET Assay: Powerful Proteomics Exciting advances in the study of protein synthesis and related health conditions are on the horizon! Research scientists have developed an improved process to quantify and understand the processes of protein synthesis in singular eukaryotic cells/cell populations. It’s called the surface sensing of translation, or SUnSET assay. It is a nonradioactive fluorescence-activated assay, which means...

Amphotericin B for Viral Disease Research Amphotericin B is an antibiotic that has been used for over fifty years as an aggressive and effective antifungal treatment.  It battles serious fungal infections like cryptococcal meningitis with ease.  Often called by its brand name, Fungizone, this antibiotic is effective in saving lives and has been relied upon for decades because pathogens have...

Poly(A) for Vital COVID-19 Research Nothing is more at the forefront in scientific news right now than the Coronavirus pandemic. Testing for the COVID-19 vaccine is at the top of the list for research scientists and there is dramatically increased demand for chemical materials to observe and measure coronavirus protein synthesis. Polyadenylic acid, or poly(A), is one of these critical...

Pathology Research Using Mitophagy Modulators When you hear “small things with big impact”, do you immediately think of mitochondria and mitophagy modulators? Probably not! But these little organelles are champions of cell regulation.  Among their functions is regulating the energy of the cell as well as cell death. And just as mitochondria are responsible for cell function, mitophagy is responsible...

Hydroxychloroquine: Misconceptions in the Media It’s hard to miss hearing the word “hydroxychloroquine” being associated with coronavirus in the news right now.  Hydroxychloroquine is being touted as a “game changer” in treating coronavirus by people in the current US administration who are not medical professionals. This drug has a similar structure to a previously established drug called CQ (N4-(7-Chloro-4-quinolinyl)-N1,N1-diethyl-1,4-pentanediamine), which...

Guanidine Thiocyanate in RNA Lysis Buffers and COVID-19 Research Guanidine thiocyanate chemical structure With COVID-19 ever present on our minds, viral research is being focused on now more than anything else. We at AG Scientific have remained open to meet the needs of the research community and are stocking chemical agents such as guanidine thiocyanate.  Read on to learn more...

Tunicamycin: ER Stress Inducer When we hear the terms cell death and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, what first comes to mind?  3D illustration of protein folding Stress? Death? Two concepts that don’t exactly inspire positive thoughts.  However, in the case of the antibiotic compound tunicamycin, cell death and ER stress are the objectives.  What is Tunicamycin? Tunicamycin is an antibiotic...

Ruthenium: Applications in Medical & Energy Technologies Ruthenium is used as a catalyst, in addition to being one of the rarest metals on the planet. It speeds up chemical processes with precision and aides in electrochemical energy technologies as well as renewable energy conversions. It is mainly found with platinum in small amounts around the world, and for being so...

Tips for Selecting Biological Detergents Biological detergents are chemicals classified as surfactants, or surface-active molecules. Research scientists typically use these detergents in affecting the interactions within molecules of a biological sample being studied. These surfactants are used in biochemical research to target and manipulate the structure of membrane proteins without sacrificing their integrity or impacting their original function. Membrane proteins...