The researchers have some ideas about how medical laboratory researchers could make practical use of the new Georgia Tech method to detect odd biomolecules emitted by cancer, such as antigens. For example, the chemical octopus could improve detection of prostate-specific antigens (PSA) in prostate cancer screenings.
The intersection of traditional art and 3D rendering
The art world is no stranger to the increasing use of 3D rendering and animation. As technology continues to advance, more artists are using digital tools and techniques to create their work. However, this doesn’t mean that traditional art techniques are becoming obsolete. In fact, many artists are finding ways to combine the two worlds to create truly unique projects.
The relationship between traditional art and 3D rendering is complex. While 3D rendering is a digital medium, it is not entirely different from traditional art. Many of the techniques used in 3D have roots in traditional art forms such as sculpture and painting. In this article, we will explore both traditional art and 3D rendering, and the benefits and challenges that come with combining them.
Furthermore, we will also look at the benefits of what a render farm service has provided to the increasing number of artists looking to take advantage of a new digital medium. Render farms can provide high-quality results with low costs and fast turnaround.
The connection between physical and digital art
Despite being a digital medium, 3D rendering has a strong connection to physical art. Many artists who work in 3D use traditional art techniques to inform their work. For example, sculptors often use clay or plaster to create a model of their design before creating a digital version. This physical model can help them to understand the shapes, forms, and textures of their design and can inform their digital work.
A lot of theories and concepts have been developed over time in traditional art, such as color theory and composition, which are used extensively when working in 3D rendering. By using these techniques, artists can create more realistic and expressive digital art. Some even use physical materials such as oil paints, charcoal, and clay to create textures and other effects in their digital work.
Examples of artists who are incorporating traditional art techniques into their 3D work include Ryan Kingslien, who uses sculpting techniques to create detailed models for video games, and Mike Winkelmann, also known as Beeple, who often incorporates traditional art forms such as drawing and painting into his digital pieces.
The skills and techniques of traditional artists can be applied to 3D rendering in a number of ways. For example, an understanding of color theory can help artists create more realistic lighting and shading in their digital work. Similarly, knowledge of composition can help artists to create dynamic and engaging scenes in 3D.
The combination of traditional and digital techniques can also greatly benefit from the use of online render farms. For example, an artist may use traditional techniques to create a physical model of their design, which they can then scan and upload to a render farm for rendering. This can save time and effort compared to creating the entire design digitally from scratch.
The benefits of combining traditional and digital techniques
There are many benefits to using both traditional and digital techniques in creating art. By combining the two, artists can create work that is more expressive, dynamic, and visually interesting. Traditional techniques can add a sense of depth and texture to digital work, while digital tools and render farms can help artists to create more complex and intricate designs.
The combination of traditional and digital techniques can also result in work that is more efficient to create. For example, an artist might use traditional techniques to create a physical model of their design, which they can then scan and use as a basis for their digital work. They can then take advantage of a render farm to handle any job. This can save time and effort compared to creating the entire design digitally from scratch.
Examples of artists who are successfully combining traditional and digital techniques in their work include Iris van Herpen, who creates stunning couture designs using 3D printing technology, and Joshua Harker, who uses traditional sculpting techniques to create intricate models that he then scans and 3D prints.
Cancerous traces
“These tiny traces are critically important for early disease detection,” said principal investigator Ronghu Wu, a professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “When cancer is just getting started, aberrant glycoproteins are produced and secreted into body fluids such as blood and urine. Often their abundances are extremely low, but catching them is urgent.”
This new chemical trap, which took Georgia Tech chemists several years to develop and is based on a boronic acid, has proven extremely effective in lab tests including on cultured human cells and mouse tissue samples.
“This method is very universal,” said first author Haopeng Xiao, a graduate research assistant. “We get over 1,000 glycoproteins in a really small lab sample.”
In comparison tests with existing methods, the chemical trap, a complex molecular construction reminiscent of an octopus, captured exponentially more glycoproteins, especially more of those trace glycoproteins.
Wu, Xiao and Weixuan Chen, a former Georgia Tech postdoctoral researcher, who was also first author of the study alongside Xiao, published their results in the journal Nature Communications. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.
Boronic bungles
For chemistry whizzes, here’s a short summary of how the researchers made the octopus. They took a good thing and doubled then tripled down on it.
Those who recall high school chemistry class may still know what boric acid is, as do people who use it to kill roaches. Its chemical structure is an atom of boron bonded with three hydroxyl groups (H3BO3).
Boronic acids are a family of organic compounds that build on boric acid. There are many members of the boronic acid family, and they tend to bond well with glycoproteins, but their bonds can be less reliable than needed.
“Most boronic acids let too many low-abundance glycoproteins get away,” Wu said. “They can catch glycoproteins that are in high abundance but not those in low abundance, the ones that tell us more valuable things about cell development or about human disease.”
Benzoboroxole octopus
But the Georgia Tech chemists were able to leverage the strengths of boronic acids to develop a glycoprotein capturing method that works exceptionally well.
First, they tested several boronic acid derivatives and found that one called benzoboroxole strongly bound with each sugar component on the glycopeptide. (“Peptide” refers to the basic chemical composition of a protein.)
Then they stitched many benzoboroxole molecules together with other components to form a “dendrimer,” which refers to the resulting branch- or tentacle-like structure. The finished large molecule resembled an octopus ready to go after those sugar components.
In its middle, similarly positioned to an octopus’s head, was a magnetic bead, which acted as a kind of handle. Once the dendrimer caught a glycoprotein, the researchers used a magnet to grab the bead and pull out their chemical octopus along with its ensnared glycopeptides (e.g. glycoproteins).
“Then we washed the dendrimer off with a low pH solution, and we had the glycoproteins analyzed with things like mass spectrometry,” Wu said.
