Publisher's Synopsis
Molecular biotechnology is the use of laboratory techniques to study and modify nucleic acids and proteins for applications in areas such as human and animal health, agriculture, and the environment. Molecular biotechnology results from the convergence of many areas of research, such as molecular biology, microbiology, biochemistry, immunology, genetics, and cell biology. The text Molecular Biotechnology: Therapeutic Applications and Strategies provides a thorough introduction to modern biotechnology detailing specific aspects such as gene therapy, transgenic animals, drug design, and the human genome project. The use of glycerol in biotechnological applications has been discussed in first chapter. Second chapter proposes the use of the phage-display technique as a tool to identify new reagents that may be effectively used in immunological assays. In third chapter, we provide an overview of major DNA repair pathways and describe recent advances in anticancer therapy with a focus on DNA repair in cancer. Fourth chapter presents the foundations of polymeric microparticles based on their formulation, mechanisms of drug release and some of their innovative therapeutic strategies to board multiple diseases. In fifth chapter, we review the pathological features of duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and therapeutic applications, especially of exon skipping using antisense oligonucleotides and gene therapies using viral vectors in murine and canine models of DMD. Sixth chapter focuses on advanced nanomaterials in multimodal imaging. In seventh chapter, we focus on the uses of nanobiophotonics for molecular diagnostics involving specific sequence characterization of nucleic acids and for gene delivery systems of relevance for therapy strategies. Eighth chapter deals with the biological properties of neural stem cells (NSCs) and discusses how these cells may be exploited to provide effective therapies for neurological disorders. Ninth chapter reviews recent progress in mucosal immunotherapy for allergic diseases. Topical application of recombinant type VII collagen incorporates into the dermal-epidermal junction and promotes wound closure has been presented in tenth chapter.