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Lee makes gold and dna ruler |
October 11, 2006
Researchers including Bioengineering Professor Luke Lee have created a ruler of gold nanoparticles and DNA which can measure tiny protein-DNA interactions.
The molecular ruler offers label-free and real-time measurement of protein-DNA interactions at an extremely high resolution,and promises to play a key role efforts to understand how genetic information flows from DNA to RNA to gene expression.
Currently, scientists examine the final products of this chain of events by cataloging the expression levels of various genes and proteins. The new molecular ruler can give a much earlier glimpse into this process by measuring the beginning stages of DNA-binding activities.
The ruler is constructed of gold nanoparticles that are coated with a substance that makes the nanoparticles soluble, and about 100 double-stranded DNA segments are tethered to the gold in a configuration like a spider.
Collaborating on the research were Fanqing Frank Chen, a scientist in Lawrence Berkeley Lab’s Life Sciences Division, Paul Alivisatos, Director of Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division and UCB Professor of Chemistry, and Bioengineering graduate student Gang Liu. Their findings were published in the October premier issue of the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
Read the full story at Berkeley Lab .
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