Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: "New nanotechnology able to examine single molecules, aiding in determining gene expression"

Home > Press > New nanotechnology able to examine single molecules, aiding in determining gene expression

Abstract:
A new nanotechnology that can examine single molecules in order to determine gene expression, paving the way for scientists to more accurately examine single cancer cells, has been developed by an interdisciplinary team of researchers at UCLA's California Nanosystems Institute (CNSI), New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, and Veeco Instruments, a nanotechnology company. Their work appears in the January issue of the journal Nanotechnology.

New nanotechnology able to examine single molecules, aiding in determining gene expression

NEW YORK, NY | Posted on January 24th, 2007

Previously, researchers have been able to determine gene expression using microarray technology or DNA sequencing. However, such processes could not effectively measure single gene transcripts—the building blocks of gene expression. With their new approach, the researchers of the work reported in Nanotechnology were able to isolate and identify individual transcript molecules—a sensitivity not achieved with earlier methods.

"Gene expression profiling is used widely in basic biological research and drug discovery," said Jason Reed of UCLA's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the study's lead author. "Scientists have been hampered in their efforts to unlock the secrets of gene transcription in individual cells by the minute amount of material that must be analyzed. Nanotechnology allows us to push down to the level of individual transcript molecules."

"We are likely to see more of these kinds of highly multi-disciplinary research aimed at single molecule sequencing, genomics, epigenomic, and proteomic analysis in the future," added Bud Mishra, a professor of Computer Science, Mathematics, and Cell Biology from NYU's Courant Institute and School of Medicine. "The most exciting aspect of this approach is that as we understand how to intelligently combine various components of genomics, robotics, informatics, and nanotechnology—the so-called GRIN technology—the resulting systems will become simple, inexpensive, and commonplace."

The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and NASA.

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About New York University
New York University has a long tradition of fostering innovative research dating back to its founding in the early 1800s when Samuel Morse had a laboratory in the Main Building. NYU is a category I Research University and one of only 60 American institutions admitted to membership of the Association of American Universities. Our faculty and students contribute to the advancement of the sciences, arts, humanities, and the professions in a wide variety of fields—from cutting-edge vision research to the cataloging and preserving of ancient Aramaic and Judaic texts.

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