SLAS Technology Volume 37 Highlights AI Drug Design and Field-Ready Diagnostics

Volume 37 of SLAS Technology includes one technical brief, four original research articles, two literature highlights, and four entries from the Special Issue on Revolutionizing Transcriptomics from Single-Cell Insights to RNA-Based Interventions. The volume features a novel framework that embeds AI drug discovery workflows within the familiar Electronic Lab Notebook interface and a portable platform that can detect Citrus tristeza virus from citrus leaves in under 35 minutes without laboratory equipment or cold-chain storage.

In the technical brief, the authors propose a novel framework that embeds AI drug discovery workflows within the familiar Electronic Lab Notebook interface, making advanced AI tools accessible to bench chemists without requiring specialized computational expertise.

Among the original research articles, PipeBO is a newly developed pipelining Bayesian optimization method that reduces processing time by overlapping experimental processes, achieving up to a 56% reduction compared to sequential methods. Another study explores the mechanism for HSP90AB1-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction leading to podocyte injury via its regulation of ATP5A1 and PARK2 interactions, as validated in clinical samples and mouse cell line models. The findings identify new potential therapeutic targets for podocyte injury and advance understanding of its underlying pathological mechanisms.

Researchers also isolated β-lactamase-producing Pseudomonas songnenensis from poultry farm soil and demonstrated its ability to degrade β-lactam antibiotics including penicillin, ampicillin and amoxicillin through enzymatic hydrolysis. The discovery offers a novel bioremediation strategy for mitigating antibiotic pollution in sustainable livestock farming and food production systems.

A separate study developed a portable platform combining OmniLyse micro-homogenization with lyophilized RT-LAMP assays that can detect Citrus tristeza virus from citrus leaves in under 35 minutes without laboratory equipment or cold-chain storage. This cold-chain-free, field-deployable technology enables rapid onsite plant pathogen detection and could be extended to other agricultural pathogens.

The literature highlights cover recent advances in laboratory automation, microfluidics and AI-enhanced biosensing, including high-throughput genome editing platforms, automated nucleic acid extraction protocols and intelligent strain engineering systems. The special issue on systems genetics examines gene and molecular interaction networks, utilizing high-throughput sequencing and multi-omics technologies to understand how genetic networks influence phenotypes, and emphasizes personalized medicine, therapeutic target discovery and biomarker identification through integrated genomic and epigenomic approaches.