RESEARCHERS USE DNA TO BUILD TOOL THAT MAY SHINE LIGHT ON CANCER

摘要

Bioengineers at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and the University of Montreal have used DNA to develop a tool that detects and reacts to chemical changes caused by cancer cells and may one day be used to deliver drugs to tumour cells. The findings were published under the title: "Programmable pH triggered DNA nanoswitches," in the Journal of American Chemical Society. The researchers' nanosensor measures pH variations at the na-noscale determining how acidic (a higher pH level) or alkaline (a lower pH level) it is. Many biomolecules such as enzymes and proteins are strongly regulated by small pH changes. These changes affect in turn biological activities such as enzyme catalysis, protein assembly, membrane function and cell death. There is also a strong relation between cancer and pH.