Pittcon 2013 Conference Tackles Life Sciences Challenges, Novel Research

Pittcon has always been the premiere venue for companies to launch new products and for scientists to present their latest research to a global audience. This year is no exception. Although this conference and exposition mainly attracts members of the scientific community, the science and advances that will be shared at this dynamic event impact the quality of life of the entire world population. Innovations in areas such as medical treatment, drug discovery, diagnostic testing, environmental monitoring of air and water, nanotechnology and food quality and traceability are just some of the topics of interest that will be featured  in the 2013 exposition, technical program and short courses.

The technical program offers more than 2,000 technical presentations consisting of symposia, awards, oral and poster sessions and workshops which present the latest information and advances in a wide range of applications and methodologies

A significant portion, approximately 40%, of the program focuses on topics relevant to life science.  Symposia such as “Nanotechnology against Cancer: A fight in Progress” organized by Raoul Kopelman and “Microfluidics for the Detection of Circulating Tumor Cell” present the latest developments in the detection and treatment of cancer.  Other ground-breaking research is discussed in “Advances in Blood Glucose Monitoring” which covers findings on the production of small needle-type electrochemical glucose sensors to monitor blood glucose levels. In recent years, the interest on emerging microfabrication techniques has increased considerably. 

In diagnostics, low-cost microfluidic platforms based in toner- and paper-based techniques have appeared as two promising platforms for the production of disposable devices for lab-on-chip applications.  The symposium, “Emerging Simple and Inexpensive Microdevice Technologies for Point-of-Care Assays,” focuses on recent efforts in fabrication techniques and in the analytical/bioanalytical applications of toner and paper-based devices.

Speakers participating in the session “Human Exposome Discovery and Disease Investigation” will discuss non-invasive breath analysis that measures volatile organics that quickly and easily identifies disease states.

Research on many neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s, has found  the presence of amyloid depositions consisting of fibrils with a cross-b structure which have been a most intriguing target of modern structural biology. Up to now, the application of conventional methods for characterizing protein conformational transformations has been limited. The symposium, “New Spectroscopic Approaches to Protein Structure – Understanding Amyloid Fibrils,” will discuss several novel spectroscopic approaches that have been recently reported for structural characterization of fibrils, which provides complementary information. In addition, the session will bring together leading experts in the field and facilitate the exchange of ideas and initiates collaborations.

To complement the robust technical program, the exposition offers a unique, once-a-year opportunity to get a first-hand look at the innovations in equipment, techniques and instrumentation referenced in the technical sessions and more.  There will be a dedicated area in addition to booth locations throughout the floor for exhibitors that display products, services and technology used specifically by life scientists. The exposition provides a venue for attendees to participate in live demonstrations, learn from product seminars, talk with technical personnel to help solve laboratory challenges, and to take advantage of exclusive “onsite only” deals and discounts offered by select companies.

A complete listing of all technical sessions and exhibiting companies is available at www.pittcon.org and also on the Pittcon 2013 mobile app which is available for free download for iOS and Android devices.