Respirator Protection Devices and Methods to Detect and Remove Toxic Gases from the Air - Cobinamide Encapsulated Silica-based Materials for Respirator Canisters

A respirator protects the wearer from inhaling dangerous substances, such as chemicals and infectious particles. CDC developed devices and methods to detect and remove chemicals such as hydrogen cyanide, cyanogen, hydrogen sulfide, nitrite, and nitric oxide from the air for those wearing respirators. Cobinamide (a Vitamin B12 analog with a high affinity to cyanide) molecules are immobilized within a silica matrix that allows for the infiltration and containment of gaseous chemicals.

Composite Gels and Methods of their Use in Tissue Repair, Drug Delivery, and as Implants

Gel materials, particularly hydrogels, typically lose their mechanical strength and stiffness as they swell. This property  limits their use in both biological (e.g., cartilage and ECM repair) and non-biological (e.g., sealant) applications. Innovative materials in both medical and non-medical application areas are sorely needed.

MADCO-Accelerated Multidimensional Diffusion MRI

Although multidimensional diffusion/relaxation NMR experiments are widely used in materials sciences and engineering applications, preclinical and clinical MRI applications of these techniques were not feasible. Moreover, higher-field MRI scanners posed another obstacle to translation of this NMR method. Their specific absorption rate (SAR) limits the use of multi-echo or CPMG pulse trains, so that the large amounts of data required by these methods cannot be collected in vivo due to exceedingly long scan times.

Reduced Virulence Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus for Vaccine Development

This invention relates to a genetically modified hemorrhagic fever virus that can be used as an effective live vaccine agent. Hemorrhagic fever evades the human immune response using the viral ovarian tumor domain (vOTU) protease, which inhibits critical host-immunity functions. The present genetically modified virus has a vOTU protease with decreased ability to remove ubiquitin (Ub) and ISG15 tags from proteins in cells it infects. Thus, the virulence is reduced, creating an immunogenic and non-pathogenic virus for use as a live vaccine against Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus.

Full-Length cDNA Clone Representing the Consensus Sequence of the RNA Genome of a Human Norovirus (strain MD145-12) That Encodes Biologically Active Proteins

The invention provides for a full-length cloned cDNA copy of the RNA genome of a predominant norovirus strain (Genogroup II.4) designated MD145-12 that was associated with human gastrointestinal illness. The noroviruses, which were formerly known as "Norwalk-like" viruses are estimated to cause 23 million cases of acute gastroenteritis in the USA each year. The virus has been designated into category B of the CDC biodefense-related priority pathogens because it can be used as an agent of bioterrorism.

The Use of Rabbits with Defined Immunoglobulin Light Chain Genes (C<sub>kappa</sub> b allotypes) to Optimize Production of Chimeric and Humanized Monoclonal Antibodies for Therapeutic, Imaging and Diagnostic Applications

Biological materials are important research tools that can be used for diagnostic as well as therapeutic purposes. Antibodies have become viable drugs in the market today and there is a general market need for systems that may facilitate production of efficient and effective antibodies. In recent years, monoclonal antibodies have gained significant importance in their use, both as diagnostics and therapeutics, to intervene and combat diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and infections.

A Nurr1-Knockout Mouse Model for Parkinson's Disease and Stem Cell Differentiation

The researchers have generated Nurr1-knockout mice via genomic locus inactivation using homologous recombination.

Transcription factor Nurr1 is an obligatory factor for neurotransmitter dopamine biosynthesis in ventral midbrain. From a neurological and clinical perspective, it suggests an entirely new mechanism for dopamine depletion in a region where dopamine is known to be involved in Parkinson's disease. Activation of Nurr1 may be therapeutically useful for Parkinson's disease patients; therefore, the mice would be useful in Parkinson's disease research.

A Novel Strategy to Produce 6-cys Proteins Based on Pfs230D1 Domain Fusions

The Plasmodium parasite has a complex lifecycle during human infection and in the mosquito vector. Most advanced malaria vaccine candidates can confer only partial, short-term protection in malaria-endemic areas. A means of breaking the transmission of malaria to subsequent individuals could prevent a significant amount of human disease.

The primary embodiments of this technology are novel compositions of matter that produce enhanced transmission-blocking responses over current transmission blocking vaccines:

Broadly neutralizing influenza hemagglutinin stem-directed antibodies

In 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported roughly 3 to 5 million cases of severe influenza worldwide, resulting in approximately 290,000 to 650,000 deaths. Given the high disease burden, the needs for both prophylactic and therapeutic influenza strategies remain significant. However, current treatments for influenza are susceptible to resistance and are useful for only a limited post-infection period.    

Subscribe to Materials Available