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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Dr. Ryan White, University of California, Santa Barbara
Electrochemical DNA-Based Sensors: From Benchtop to Bedside
Drug overdose, anaphylaxis, sepsis and many other life-threatening diseases progress in minutes. In contrast, the molecular tools used to diagnose and monitor such diseases typically require hours to return an answer to the clinicianâs hands, and thus the development of rapid, point-of-care diagnostics would significantly improve treatment. Electrochemical DNA-based sensors have emerged as a potentially promising solution to this problem, with examples reported to date for the rapid detection of a range of nucleic acid, protein and small molecule analytes. These sensors, which comprise a surface appended, redox-tagged DNA probe, are based on specific, binding-induced changes in the structure and dynamics of this probe. These changes, in turn, alter the efficiency with which the attached redox tag transfers electrons to and from the electrode, thus generating signal without the need for exogenous reagents. Critically, the specificity of probe/target interactions and the relative paucity of electrochemical interferents allow these sensors to work even when challenged in complex sample media, such as whole blood, without requiring any sample processing. In this talk, I describe the optimization of this diagnostic platform and the hurdles that stand between laboratory research and real-world applicability. Specifically, by optimizing parameters such as the sensor fabrication protocols, surface biophysics, probe geometries, and interrogation methods, we have gained new insights into the mechanism underlying the signaling of these sensors allowing us to make significant improvements in their performance.
For more information contact Prof. Andrew Lyon (404-894-4090).
