 |
|
Chips are down as Manchester makes protein scanning breakthrough
August 25, 2008Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed a new and fast method for making biological 'chips' - technology that 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), published online today (22 August 2008).
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.
The Manchester team of Dr Lu Shin Wong, Dr Jenny Thirlway and Prof Jason Micklefield say the technical challenges of attaching proteins in a reliable way have previously held back the widespread application and development of protein chips.
Existing techniques for attaching proteins often results in them becoming fixed in random orientations, which can cause them to become damaged and inactive.
Current methods also require proteins to be purified first - and this means that creating large and powerful protein arrays would be hugely costly in terms of time, manpower and money.
Now researchers at The University of Manchester say they have found a reliable new way of attaching active proteins to a chip.
Biological chemists have engineered modified proteins with a special tag, which makes the protein attach to a surface in a highly specified way and ensures it remains functional.
The attachment occurs in a single step in just a few hours - unlike with existing techniques - and requires no prior chemical modification of the protein of interest or additional chemical steps.
Prof Jason Micklefield from the School of Chemistry, said: "DNA chips have revolutionised biological and medical science. For many years scientists have tried to develop similar protein chips but technical difficulties associated with attaching large numbers of proteins to surfaces have prevented their widespread application.
"The method we have developed could have profound applications in the diagnosis of disease, screening of new drugs and in the detection of bacteria, pollutants, toxins and other molecules."
Researchers from The University of Manchester are currently working as part of a consortium of several universities on a £3.1 million project which is aiming to develop so-called 'nanoarrays'.
These would be much smaller than existing 'micro arrays' and would allow thousands more protein samples to be placed on a single 'chip', reducing cost and vastly increasing the volume of data that could be simultaneously collected.
University of Manchester
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.
The Manchester team of Dr Lu Shin Wong, Dr Jenny Thirlway and Prof Jason Micklefield say the technical challenges of attaching proteins in a reliable way have previously held back the widespread application and development of protein chips.
Existing techniques for attaching proteins often results in them becoming fixed in random orientations, which can cause them to become damaged and inactive.
Current methods also require proteins to be purified first - and this means that creating large and powerful protein arrays would be hugely costly in terms of time, manpower and money.
Now researchers at The University of Manchester say they have found a reliable new way of attaching active proteins to a chip.
Biological chemists have engineered modified proteins with a special tag, which makes the protein attach to a surface in a highly specified way and ensures it remains functional.
The attachment occurs in a single step in just a few hours - unlike with existing techniques - and requires no prior chemical modification of the protein of interest or additional chemical steps.
Prof Jason Micklefield from the School of Chemistry, said: "DNA chips have revolutionised biological and medical science. For many years scientists have tried to develop similar protein chips but technical difficulties associated with attaching large numbers of proteins to surfaces have prevented their widespread application.
"The method we have developed could have profound applications in the diagnosis of disease, screening of new drugs and in the detection of bacteria, pollutants, toxins and other molecules."
Researchers from The University of Manchester are currently working as part of a consortium of several universities on a £3.1 million project which is aiming to develop so-called 'nanoarrays'.
These would be much smaller than existing 'micro arrays' and would allow thousands more protein samples to be placed on a single 'chip', reducing cost and vastly increasing the volume of data that could be simultaneously collected.
University of Manchester
New Drugs Current Events and New Drugs News RSSU.S. and European Experts Applaud Creation of New Transatlantic Task Force on Global Antibiotic Resistance Threat
Experts on both sides of the Atlantic applaud President Barack Obama and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, representing the European Union (EU) Presidency, for establishing a transatlantic task force to address antibiotic resistance, an urgent and growing problem that threatens patient safety and public health worldwide.
ISU researchers' findings bring hope for possible Parkinson's disease cure
Researchers at Iowa State University have found an essential key to possibly cure Parkinson's disease and are looking for others.
New class of molecules may help prevent fatal complication in patients with kidney disease
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have made an important discovery about why potassium builds up to dangerous levels in the bloodstream, a relatively common medical problem that affects about eight percent of hospitalized patients.
Blood vessels might predict prostate cancer behavior
A diagnosis of prostate cancer raises the question for patients and their physicians as to how the tumor will behave. Will it grow quickly and aggressively and require continuous treatment, or slowly, allowing therapy and its risks to be safely delayed?
Pitt, US Army team designs new strategy to find drugs to treat neglected infection
Using an unconventional approach that they designed, University of Pittsburgh drug discoverers and their collaborators at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research have identified compounds that hold promise for treating leishmaniasis, a parasitic infection that many consider one of the world's most overlooked diseases.
Scientists discover influenza's Achilles heel: Antioxidants
As the nation copes with a shortage of vaccines for H1N1 influenza, a team of Alabama researchers have raised hopes that they have found an Achilles' heel for all strains of the flu-antioxidants.
That '4 hour erection': new discovery may help prevent a complication of priapism
For men coping with painful erections lasting for long periods of time, or priapism, new research published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) offers hope.
Concurrent imaging of metabolic and electric signals in the heart
Cardiac rhythm disorders can result from disturbances in cardiac metabolism. These metabolic changes are tightly linked with specific cardiac electrophysiology (CEP) abnormalities, such as depressed excitability, impaired intra- and extracellular conductivities, wave propagation block, and alteration of conduction velocity, action potential amplitude, and duration.
Sensor biochips could aid in cancer diagnosis and treatment
It is very difficult to predict whether a cancer drug will help an individual patient: only around one third of drugs will work directly in a given patient.
Experts issue call to reconsider screening for breast cancer and prostate cancer
Twenty years of screening for breast and prostate cancer - the most diagnosed cancer for women and men - have not brought the anticipated decline in deaths from these diseases, argue experts from the University of California, San Francisco and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in an opinion piece published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association."
More New Drugs Current Events and New Drugs News Articles
 |
The Drug of the New Millennium - The Brain Science Behind Internet Pornography Use by Mark B. Kastleman (Author) The most devastating super-drug in history is attacking our children and teenagers! Included in the back of the book: An epidemic is sweeping across America and much of the world. Parents and spouses are desperate for answers. Clergy and counselors are inundated and searching for solutions. It s estimated that over 60 million in the U.S. are addicted at some level. Nine out of ten children between age eight and sixteen have been exposed. Teens are the largest consumers. The epidemic? Internet Pornography Use. Now, via computers, cell phones and even video gaming systems, every variety of... |
 |
New Jack City Starring: John Aprea, Nick Ashford, Bill Cobbs, Anthony DeSando, Flavor Flav Also With: Ice-T (Primary Contributor), Allen Payne (Primary Contributor), Chris Rock (Primary Contributor), Wesley Snipes (Primary Contributor) AN UNFLINCHING SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS LOOK AT THE RISE AND FALL OF A POWERFUL NEW YORK DRUG LORD AND A DOOMED CRACK ADDICT. A CONTROVERSIAL PORTRAIT OF THE REALTIES OF DRUG ABUSE. |
 |
All New Also With: NBC (Producer) |
 |
I Want A New Drug (Single Edit) (2006 Digital Remaster) Huey Lewis And The News (Primary Contributor) |
 |
City On Drugs Times New Viking (Primary Contributor) |
 |
I Wanna New Drug (Lightning) - 1 1/4" Button / Pin by Square Deal Recordings & Supplies This button is the perfect affordable accessory! It is also great to help make your luggage or backpacks more unique and easy to identify. Collect all your favorite bands & funny sayings! WE HAVE THOUSANDS OF BUTTONS TO CHOOSE FROM! |
|
HEART & SOUL/I WANT A NEW DRUG HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS (Performer) THIS IS A 45 RPM VINYL RE-ISSUE SINGLE RECORD BY HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS CALLED "HEART & SOUL/I WANT A NEW DRUG", & IT'S ON THE CHRYSALIS LABEL #VS8-42948 IN STEREO, & CAME OUT IN 1983! | |
 |
Gillette Good News! Razors, 12-Count Bag (Pack of 3) by Gillette Comfort Blades. Gillette Series - Advanced protection and comfort for men. Twin Gillette Comfort Blades are thinner to cut hair more easily - for an extraordinarily comfortable shave. Better control handle. Resealable. Made in Mexico. |
 |
Jacob Hornberger's Blog by Jacob G. Hornberger Daily libertarian commentary on current events from the president of The Future of Freedom Foundation.Kindle blogs are fully downloaded onto your Kindle so you can read them even when you're not wirelessly connected. And unlike RSS readers which often only provide headlines, blogs on Kindle give you full text content and images, and are updated wirelessly throughout the day. |
 |
Marihuana (New Drug That Maddens Victims) Black Wood-Mounted Art Poster Print - 24" X 36" by Adam Hersh Posters |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |