switch | Leaders in Pharmaceutical Business Intelligence Group, LLC, Doing Business As LPBI Group, Newton, MA

Posts Tagged ‘switch’

Protein Switches: The Programmable Future of Bio-therapeutics

Posted in Autoimmune Inflammatory DIseases, Autologous Cell Therapy, Cancer and Current Therapeutics, CANCER BIOLOGY & Innovations in Cancer Therapy, Cell Biology, Signaling & Cell Circuits, Cell Processing System in Cell Therapy Process Development, Human Immune System in Health and in Disease, Microbiome and Responses to Cancer Therapy, Personal Health Applications: Tech Innovations serves HealhCare, Pharmacotherapy and Cell Activity, Population Health Management, Genetics & Pharmaceutical, Population Health Management, Nutrition and Phytochemistry, Proteins, Proteomics, Rapid automation of plasma protein pools, Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, Uncategorized, tagged Mutagenesis, protein, reprogramming, switch, therapeutics on June 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Protein Switches: The Programmable Future of Bio-therapeutics

Curator: Dr. Sudipta Saha, Ph. D.

A PNAS paper entitled “A protein therapeutic modality founded on molecular regulation” presents a pioneering approach to creating protein switches—engineered enzymes that activate only in specific molecular environments. This design introduces a new class of context-dependent therapeutics for precision medicine.

Using domain-insertion techniques, researchers inserted ligand-binding domains into scaffold proteins like β-lactamase. These proteins remain inactive until encountering a specific small molecule, which triggers a conformational change and restores enzymatic activity. This offers precise spatiotemporal control—ideal for minimizing off-target effects.

One key innovation is the systematic insertional mutagenesis that identifies functional switch sites across the protein scaffold. This enables the construction of vast protein libraries, increasing the likelihood of finding optimal switch configurations. Furthermore, the approach is modular—different binding domains and enzymes can be combined to create switches tailored to specific clinical contexts.

These smart proteins can be programmed to respond to cancer biomarkers, metabolite levels, or disease-specific molecular cues. By activating only under disease conditions, they provide a blueprint for next-generation bio-therapeutics—potent, selective, and safer.

The method also opens avenues for drug delivery systems, diagnostics, and biosensors, where conditional activation is critical. Overall, this work represents a conceptual leap in synthetic biology and bioengineering, with implications spanning oncology, infectious disease, and regenerative medicine.

References:

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1102803108

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21646539

https://www.nature.com/articles/nchembio.581

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.biochem.8b00392

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-020-0585-5

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2022.870310/full

Read Full Post »

Lifelong Contraceptive Device for Men: Mechanical Switch to Control Fertility on Wish

Posted in Bio Instrumentation in Experimental Life Sciences Research, Bioengineering & reverse engineering design, BioTechnology - Venture Creation, Clinical & Translational, Medical Device Therapies for Altzheimer’s Disease, Methods, MicroEngineering Cell-Tissue & Systems, Personal Health Applications: Tech Innovations serves HealhCare, Reproductive Andrology, Embryology, Genomic Endocrinology, Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis and Reproductive Genomics, Reproductive Biology & Bio Instrumentation, Social Development, Translational Research, tagged contraceptive, device, fertility, reproduction, sperm, switch, vasectomy on January 14, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Lifelong Contraceptive Device for Men: Mechanical Switch to Control Fertility on Wish

Reporter and Curator: Dr. Sudipta Saha, Ph.D.

There aren’t many options for long-term birth control for men. The most common kinds of male contraception include

condoms,
withdrawal / pulling out,
outercourse, and
vasectomy.

But, other than vasectomy none of the processes are fully secured, comfortable and user friendly. Another solution may be

RISUG (Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance, or Vasalgel)

which is said to last for ten years and no birth control pill for men is available till date.

VIEW VIDEO

http://www.mdtmag.com/blog/2016/01/implanted-sperm-switch-turns-mens-fertility-and?et_cid=5050638&et_rid=461755519&type=cta

Recently a German inventor, Clemens Bimek, developed a novel, reversible, hormone free, uncomplicated and lifelong contraceptive device for controlling male fertility. His invention is named as Bimek SLV, which is basically a valve that stops the flow of sperm through the vas deferens with the literal flip of a mechanical switch inside the scortum, rendering its user temporarily sterile. Toggled through the skin of the scrotum, the device stays closed for three months to prevent accidental switching. Moreover, the switch can’t open on its own. The tiny valves are less than an inch long and weigh is less than a tenth of an ounce. They are surgically implanted on the vas deferens, the ducts which carry sperm from the testicles, through a simple half-hour operation.

The valves are made of PEEK OPTIMA, a medical-grade polymer that has long been employed as a material for implants. The device is patented back in 2000 and is scheduled to undergo clinical trials at the beginning of this year. The inventor claims that Bimek SLV’s efficacy is similar to that of vasectomy, it does not impact the ability to gain and maintain an erection and ejaculation will be normal devoid of the sperm cells. The valve’s design enables sperm to exit the side of the vas deferens when it’s closed without any semen blockage. Leaked sperm cells will be broken down by the immune system. The switch to stop sperm flow can be kept working for three months or 30 ejaculations. After switching on the sperm flow the inventor suggested consulting urologist to ensure that all the blocked sperms are cleared off the device. The recovery time after switching on the sperm flow is only one day, according to Bimek SLV. However, men are encouraged to wait one week before resuming sexual activities.

Before the patented technology can be brought to market, it must undergo a rigorous series of clinical trials. Bimek and his business partners are currently looking for men interested in testing the device. If the clinical trials are successful then this will be the first invention of its kind that gives men the ability to control their fertility and obviously this method will be preferred over vasectomy.

References:

https://www.bimek.com/this-is-how-the-bimek-slv-works/

http://www.mdtmag.com/blog/2016/01/implanted-sperm-switch-turns-mens-fertility-and?et_cid=5050638&et_rid=461755519&type=cta

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/12083673/German-carpenter-invents-on-off-contraception-switch-for-sperm.html

http://www.discovery.com/dscovrd/tech/you-can-now-turn-off-your-sperm-flow-with-the-flip-of-a-switch/