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Berkeley researchers attach cells to chips with DNA |
February 2006
Bioengineering researchers at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley
National Lab have succeeded in using single strands of synthetic DNA to
firmly fasten biological cells to non-biological surfaces. This
technique has multiple potential applications including biosensors,
drug-screening technologies, the growing of artificial tissues and the
design of neural networks.
Richard Mathies, Professor of Chemistry and member of the Graduate
Group in Bioengineering, and Bioengineering graduate student Erik
Douglas were members of the research team, led by Chemistry Professor
Ravi Chandra. Their paper, Programmable Cell Adhesion Encoded by DNA
Hybridization, was published in the international chemistry journal
Angewandte Chemie.
Although other methods of cell adhesion have been used to stick cells
to chips, this method creates a highly selective adhesion system, which
enables different cells to be targeted and attached to specific
locations on a surface.
Read more about this research at Lawrence Berkeley Lab. |
