Clemson Chemists Use New Nanotech To Track Molecules
Two faculty members from the Clemson University Department of Chemistry have been awarded $960,000 in grants from the National Institutes of Health to further develop nanoparticles which allow scientists to track single molecules inside living cells.
The research began as a project for making efficient solar cells and better light-emitting displays, but the focused quickly turned to live cell imaging once the scientists aimed a laser at the particles under a microscope. Their examination revealed these nanoparticles, called polymer dot particles, were hundreds of times brighter than conventional fluorescent dyes.
These highly fluorescent nanoparticles can be attached to individual proteins, DNA, or microbes making them useful for many forms of biomedical research. In addition to increasing our understanding of the body’s defense systems, polymer dots may also provide a method for precisely pinpointing cancer cells or locating the type of brain abnormalities associated with conditions like Alzheimer’s and mad cow disease.
The two chemists, Ken Christensen and Jason McNeill, credit the highly collaborative, multidisciplinary environment at Clemson for their breakthrough. As one of them explained,
“Biology is often driven by new discoveries in chemistry and physics and these polymer dots will definitely impact our studies of cellular biology.”
Kenneth A. Christensen, PhD
Professor of Analytical Chemistry, Clemson University
Details from this nanotechnology project were presented at the 2007 meeting of the American Chemical Society and have been published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry and Langmuir, an interdisciplinary journal from the American Chemical Society.
Source: The Graduate School, Clemson University
Related Links: ScienceDaily; Nanotechnology Today; GSATC.org; NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer
Related Slide Show: Cancer Nanotech on NOVA scienceNOW from PBS
Tags: South Carolina; nanostructures; physical chemistry; Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; multiphoton
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