Posted in | News | Medical Sensor | Biosensors

Sensors from DNA Molecules Offer Hope for New Cancer Treatments

Sensors made out of customized DNA molecules may be used to treat cancer in the future. At the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of Rome Tor Vergata researchers are working on nanosensors that are made from DNA molecules and may lead to new cancer tests and possible drugs.

The DNA based nanosensors are able to detect a broad class of proteins called transcription factors. These are said to be like “master switches in the control panel of our life”.

The study was led by Alexis Vallée-Bélisle, a postdoctoral researcher in UCSB's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He said that the fate of our cells was controlled by thousands of different proteins, called transcription factors. The role of these proteins was to read the genome and translate it into instructions for the synthesis of the various molecules that compose and control the cell.

Transcription factors act a little bit like the 'settings' of our cells, just like the settings on our phones or computers. What these sensors do is read those settings he said. Their sensors monitor transcription factor activities, and could be used to make sure that stem cells have been properly reprogrammed he added.

Vallée-Bélisle also said that they could be used to determine which transcription factors were activated or repressed in a patient's cancer cells, thus enabling physicians to use the right combination of drugs for each patient.

Andrew Bonham, a postdoctoral scholar at UCSB and co-first author of the study said that labs had devised other ways to read these transcription factors but none were as quick and convenient as these sensors. Bonham said that in most labs the researchers spend hours extracting the proteins from cells before analyzing them. With the new sensors, we just mash the cells up, put the sensors in, and measure the level of fluorescence of the sample he said.

Citations

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

  • APA

    Choi, Andy. (2019, February 24). Sensors from DNA Molecules Offer Hope for New Cancer Treatments. AZoSensors. Retrieved on December 04, 2024 from https://www.azosensors.com/news.aspx?newsID=3251.

  • MLA

    Choi, Andy. "Sensors from DNA Molecules Offer Hope for New Cancer Treatments". AZoSensors. 04 December 2024. <https://www.azosensors.com/news.aspx?newsID=3251>.

  • Chicago

    Choi, Andy. "Sensors from DNA Molecules Offer Hope for New Cancer Treatments". AZoSensors. https://www.azosensors.com/news.aspx?newsID=3251. (accessed December 04, 2024).

  • Harvard

    Choi, Andy. 2019. Sensors from DNA Molecules Offer Hope for New Cancer Treatments. AZoSensors, viewed 04 December 2024, https://www.azosensors.com/news.aspx?newsID=3251.

Tell Us What You Think

Do you have a review, update or anything you would like to add to this news story?

Leave your feedback
Your comment type
Submit

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.