New DNA biosensor may improve disease research
Purdue University scientists have come up with a new method for researching with DNA, potentially opening a new pathway to understanding diabetes and other diseases.
Developed by D. Marshall Porterfield, PhD, professor of agriculture and biomedical engineering, and colleagues, the method allows scientists to stack synthetic DNA and carbon nanotubes onto a biosensor electrode. Researchers found that various inefficiencies in standard sensors can compromise the accuracy of measurements. Standard sensors utilize metal electrodes coated with enzymes that react to compounds and produce an electrical signal.
The research has helped solve a problem associated with carbon nanotubes for use in improving sensors—the materials are not fully compatible with water. The technology, according to the Purdue researchers, is a sensor that builds itself.
“In the future, we will be able to create a DNA sequence that is complementary to the carbon nanotubes and is compatible with specific biosensor enzymes for the many different compounds we want to measure,” Porterfield said in a statement. “It will be a self-assembling platform for biosensors at the biomolecular level.”
A synthetic DNA that will attach to the surface of carbon nanotubes allows for water solubility. Then, once in a solution, an electrode can charge it, and the nanotubes will coat the surface, attracting enzymes to finish the assembly.
Researchers designed the sensor for glucose, but said it could be adapted for various compounds, leading to better understanding of diabetes and other diseases.
“You could mass produce these sensors for diabetes, for example, for insulin management for diabetic patients,” said Porterfield. The development could one day lead to more personalized medicine able to test in real time the effectiveness of drugs, he added.
Developed by D. Marshall Porterfield, PhD, professor of agriculture and biomedical engineering, and colleagues, the method allows scientists to stack synthetic DNA and carbon nanotubes onto a biosensor electrode. Researchers found that various inefficiencies in standard sensors can compromise the accuracy of measurements. Standard sensors utilize metal electrodes coated with enzymes that react to compounds and produce an electrical signal.
The research has helped solve a problem associated with carbon nanotubes for use in improving sensors—the materials are not fully compatible with water. The technology, according to the Purdue researchers, is a sensor that builds itself.
“In the future, we will be able to create a DNA sequence that is complementary to the carbon nanotubes and is compatible with specific biosensor enzymes for the many different compounds we want to measure,” Porterfield said in a statement. “It will be a self-assembling platform for biosensors at the biomolecular level.”
A synthetic DNA that will attach to the surface of carbon nanotubes allows for water solubility. Then, once in a solution, an electrode can charge it, and the nanotubes will coat the surface, attracting enzymes to finish the assembly.
Researchers designed the sensor for glucose, but said it could be adapted for various compounds, leading to better understanding of diabetes and other diseases.
“You could mass produce these sensors for diabetes, for example, for insulin management for diabetic patients,” said Porterfield. The development could one day lead to more personalized medicine able to test in real time the effectiveness of drugs, he added.