"What this DNA biosensor and other biosensors do is detect very small quantities of biological molecules with a high degree of specificity," Schuster said.
Tan also has crafted probes, thousands of times thinner than the human hair, that physicians may one day insert into individual cells to test for disease. Additionally, he's pioneering microscopic "nanoparticles" that could carry drugs directly to sickly cells to treat or exterminate them. All the tools meld biotechnology with the fast emerging field of nanotechnology, which endeavors to create self-assembling molecular machines.
"In order to study cells and what goes on inside of them, you have to have tools or materials much smaller than the cells," Tan said. "In our lab, we develop and test these tools, which are important to today's biomedical research and tomorrow's medical treatment."
Tan's ultrasmall probe is similar to the DNA beacon, but its florescent dye-containing tip indicates biochemicals or substances in cells rather than genes. Measuring just 30 nanometers -- a nanometer is one billionth of a meter -- it does not harm or kill the cell, and so can be used to monitor chemical changes in living cells. In tests, the probe has successfully identified glutomate, which is released when strokes occur. Researchers hope such probes could be used to determine trace concentrations of glutomate released at the start of a stroke, allowing physicians to treat the patient in time to prevent major damage.
Another major potential application of Tan's research is earlier detection of antibodies.
"You'll be able to detect antibodies much more efficiently and much easier, because you can detect them at much lower concentrations," he said.
The sensors also could be used as early indicators
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Contact: Aaron Hoover
ahoover@ufl.edu
352-392-0186
University of Florida
27-Apr-2000