Below are several projects and consultancy services ASc has provided to the industries:
The profiling and characterisation of active compounds from TCM, herbal extracts, health foods and many other products can be studied using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). For example, the consistency of quality of herbs or herbal products can be monitored by using HPLC profiling for characterization and standardization of phytochemicals present in different batches or sources.
(i) Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) levels
The antioxidant activities of SOD in the animals can be measured using enzyme assays.
(ii) Specific Immunity
Specific immunity levels of animals can be determined by flow cytometry analysis of B and T lymphocytes
(iii) Non-Specific Immunity
Non-specific immunity levels can be determined using lymphocytotoxicity assays on tumour cells.
(iv) Diabetic Model
The diabetic animal model can be used to test the effects of a wide range of functional foods, TCM, herbal extracts, therapeutics drugs, and the transplantation of stem cells and islet cells.
The development and availability of the animal models have enhanced ASc's capability to help health product companies to study the efficacy of their TCM, herbal extracts and health products. Since the approach is generic in nature, the capability developed can be extended to other health food and TCM companies requiring similar type of services.
ASc has set up a Proteomics Research Facility to engage the industry in collaborative research and service provision. Equipped with complete 2D gel instrumentation, laser scanners, automated gel utter/processor, MALDI-TOF/TOF and LC-MS, the laboratory is well positioned to adopt both the 2D gel and 2D LC approaches in proteomic analysis. The laboratory is currently collaborating with a local hospital and a research institution to study bacteria pathogens of emerging significance. Using proteomic approaches, the objective of these projects is to identify bacteria proteins that may contribute to the disease process. Such proteins would have potential clinical utility as therapeutic targets, vaccine candidates or prognostic indicators.
