Archive for the ‘DNA’ tag
Technology helps identify proteins from within
A technology that enables scientists to map the energy flow inside a protein for identification purposes has been developed.
The new research outlines how an imaging technique known as coherent two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy, 2DIR, has been used to successfully identify proteins in laboratory tests. The technique uses an ultra short pulse of infra-red laser light to cause a vibration in one part of the protein molecule. The researchers then track the movement of energy from this vibration as it moves through the protein, building up an energy flow map of the protein which enables them to identify what kind of protein it is.
Read more on: Bio Tech, DNA, Energy, Energy, genetic, molecules, proteinsScientists make protein scanning breakthrough
A new method for making biological ‘chips’ has been developed by scientists at The University of Manchester. It is hoped that this new technology could lead to quick testing for serious diseases, fast detection of MRSA infections and rapid discovery of new drugs.
Researchers working at the Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre (MIB) and The School of Chemistry have unveiled a new technique for producing functional ‘protein chips’ in a paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS).
Protein chips – or ‘protein arrays’ as they are more commonly known – are objects such as slides that have proteins attached to them and allow important scientific data about the behaviour of proteins to be gathered.
Functional protein arrays could give scientists the ability to run tests on tens of thousands of different proteins simultaneously, observing how they interact with cells, other proteins, DNA and drugs.
As proteins can be placed and located precisely on a ‘chip’, it would be possible to scan large numbers of them at the same time but then isolate the data relating to individual proteins. These chips would allow large amounts of data to be generated with the minimum use of materials – especially rare proteins that are only available in very small amounts.
Read more on: Bio Tech, biological, chips, Design, DNA, proteinsDNA separation is electric
University of Twente researchers have developed a way of separating DNA molecules using an electric field before capturing them on a chip.
The researchers found that when forced through extremely shallow channels just 20 nanometers deep an a few micrometers wide, DNA molecules behave very differently than when in free solution. In the latter situation, they tend to form clumps, whicle molecules in the channels are forced into an elongated straitjacket. This effect alone produces a difference in mobility between long and short molecules. Moreover, exposure to an electric field has now been shown to have a substaintial effect.
In a strong electric field, the molecules judder along the channel, while in weaker fields they move more smoothly, enabling DNA fragments to be ‘captured’ on a chip and separated for analysis.
Read more on: Bio Tech, DNA, electric field, Electronics, molecules