Molecular Cancer Research: Selected SI Base Units and Abbreviations


Selected SI Base Units of Measure and Symbols
[See the CBE Manual for additional abbreviations.]

A		ampere
Å		Angstrom (0.1 nm) 
cd		candela
Ci		curie
g		gram
K		Kelvin
kg		kilogram
liter 		is not abbreviated
m		meter			
M 		molar   (moles/liter)  
mol		mole
µm (not µ)	micrometer (not micron) 
mM		millimolar (millimoles/liter)
nm (not mµ)	nanometer (not millimicron) 
pm (not µµ)	picometer (not micromicron) 
R 		roentgen
rad		radian
s		second
sr		steradian
V		volt


Standard Symbols for Substances and Groups
The following trivial names for buffers may be used without definition: Aces, Ada, Bes, Bicine, Bistris, Bistris-propane, Caps, Hepes, Hepps acid, Mes, Mops, Pipes, Taps, Tes, Tricine, Tris.


Journal Abbreviations List  
Authors may use, without definition, the abbreviations in the following list:

A		absorbance 
ACTH 		adrenocorticotropin
AP 		alkaline phosphatase
ADP,etc 	the 5'(pyro)-diphosphates of adenosine, etc.
AMP, GMP, 	the 5'-phosphates of ribosyladenine, -guanine, -inosine, -uracil  -cytosine, and     -thymine
  IMP, UMP, 
  CMP, TMP	
cAmp		cyclic AMP
dAMP, dGMP,	the 5'-phosphates of 2'-deoxyribosyl-adenine, etc.
  dIMP 		 
ATP, etc. 	the 5'(pyro)-triphosphates of adenosine, etc.
ATPase 	        adenosine triphosphatase 
base pair 	bp 
BrdU 		bromodeoxyuridine
BSA 		bovine serum albumin 
°C 		degree Celsius Centrigrade)
CHO		Chinese hamster ovary
cpm	 	counts per minute
cps	 	counts per second
CoA, acyl-CoA 	coenzyme A and its acylderivatives (e.g., acetyl)
D 		diffusion coefficient
DDNP		dinitrophenyl
DEAE		diethylaminoethyl
EAE	 	diethylaminoethyl
DMSO,		dimethyl sulfoxide
DNA	 	deoxyribonucleic acid
 cDNA	    	complementary DNA 
Dnase		deoxyribonuclease 
dpm	 	disintegrations per minute
dps	 	disintegrations per second
ECM		extracellular matrix
EDTA		ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid
EGFP	 	enhanced GFP
EGTA		ethyleneglycol-bis (beta-aminoethylether)- N,N'-tetraacetic  
ELISA		enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
EM	 	electron microscopy
eq		equivalent
°F	 	degree Fahrenheit
FACS®	        registered trademark of Becton Dickinson and Company for a fluorescence-activated cell sorter
FBS		fetal bovine serum
FCS	 	fetal calf serum
FISH	 	fluorescent in situ hybridization 
g		acceleration of gravity 
H		enthalpy  (ÄH, enthalphy change) 
HBSS	 	Hanks' balanced salt solution
HPLC	 	high performance liquid chromatography
IFN	 	interferon
Ig	 	immunoglobulin
IU	 	international unit(s)
IR 		infrared
K 		equilibrium constant 
Ki 		inhibition constant 
Km 		Michaelis constant 
ln		logarithm (natural)  
log		logarithm (Briggsian) 
m		meta  
Mr 		molecular weight 
MEM		Eagle's minimum essential medium
NAD+		nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
NADH	 	NAD+ reduced 
NADP	 	NAD+phosphate
NADPH		NADP reduced; (DPN+, TPN+, and their reduced forms are not acceptable.)
ND	 	not determined
No.	 	number
NS	 	not significant 
o		ortho		
osmol		osmole
osM	 	osmolar
p		para
P		probability
Pi, PPi; 	orthophosphate, pyrophosphate
PAGE		polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
PBS	 	phosphate-buffered saline
PCR	 	polymerase chain reaction
POPOP	 	1,4-bis[2-(5-phenyloxazolyl)]benzene 
PPO 		2,5-diphenyloxazole 
r	 	correlation coefficient
Rf 		retardation factor 
RBC, WBC 	red blood cell(s), white blood cell(s) 
RIA		radioimmunoassay
RNA		ribonucleic acid
   mRNA	        messenger RNA
   nRNA 	nuclear RNA 
   rRNA 	ribosomal RNA 
   tRNA		transfer RNA
  (sRNA is not recommended for RNA preparations that accept amino acids.)
RNase 		ribonuclease 
rpm		revolutions per minute
RT-PCR	        reverse transcription PCR 
s 		sedimentation coefficient 
s20,w 		sedimentation coefficient in water at 20° 
S		Svedberg unit  
SD		standard deviation  
SE		standard error of the mean  
sec		secondary  
t1/2, 		half-life, half-time
TGF	 	transforming growth factor
TEAE		triethylaminoethyl 
tert		tertiary  
NF	 	tumor necrosis factor
TUNEL	 	Tdt-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling
U	 	unit
UV	 	ultraviolet
Vmax 		maximum velocity