Once the droplet captures its target, it is held fast while researchers use lasers to manipulate it and conduct analysis and experimentation.
"If you have 10 molecules that you're interested in, you can combine those with other molecules to make new molecules," Chiu said. "You can control their reactivity, move them and combine them if they are confined in a droplet. As soon as you put them in a test tube, they're diffused and you lose the ability to see them."
Chiu presents his work Monday during a session of the American Chemical Society's fall meeting in Washington, D.C.
The new method allows researchers to address specific biological questions that cannot be answered by testing in large quantities in the test tube, such as how organelles within a cell differ from each other, or how different proteins are expressed within the same cell, Chiu said.
"At this point it is still limited to fundamental biological studies," he said. "It provides finer, higher resolution than working with standard test tubes. There are things you cannot find out in bulk, and every cell and organelle is different."
Currently Chiu is focused on continuing development of the process, essentially creating a nanoscale test tube. But he believes the process holds great promise for future chemical and biological research.
"We're still trying to develop the process and to understand the chemistry at this small scale, which could be very different from chemistry at the macro scale," he said.
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Contact: Vince Stricherz
vinces@u.washington.edu
206-543-2580
University of Washington
29-Aug-2005