MSGID: 1:317/3 63e3256e   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Biosensor could lead to new drugs, sensory organs on a chip    
      
     Date:   
         February 7, 2023   
     Source:   
         Cornell University   
     Summary:   
         A synthetic biosensor that mimics properties found in cell membranes   
         and provides an electronic readout of activity could lead to a   
         better understanding of cell biology, development of new drugs,   
         and the creation of sensory organs on a chip capable of detecting   
         chemicals, similar to how noses and tongues work.   
      
      
         Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email   
   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   A synthetic biosensor that mimics properties found in cell membranes   
   and provides an electronic readout of activity could lead to a better   
   understanding of cell biology, development of new drugs, and the creation   
   of sensory organs on a chip capable of detecting chemicals, similar to   
   how noses and tongues work.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   A study, "Cell-Free Synthesis Goes Electric: Dual Optical and Electronic   
   Biosensor vie Direct Channel Integration into a Supported Membrane   
   Electrode," was published Jan. 18 in the Synthetic Biology journal of   
   the American Chemical Society.   
      
   The bioengineering feat described in the paper uses synthetic biology   
   to re- create a cell membrane and its embedded proteins, which are   
   gatekeepers of cellular functions. A conducting sensing platform allows   
   for an electronic readout when a protein is activated. Being able to   
   test if and how a molecule reacts with proteins in a cell membrane could   
   generate a great many applications.   
      
   But embedding membrane proteins into sensors had been notoriously   
   difficult until the study's authors combined bioelectronic sensors with   
   a new approach to synthesize proteins.   
      
   "This technology really allows us to study these proteins in ways   
   that would be incredibly challenging, if not impossible, with current   
   technology," said first author Zachary Manzer, a doctoral student in   
   the lab of senior author Susan Daniel, the Fred H. Rhodes Professor and   
   director of the Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular   
   Engineering at Cornell Engineering.   
      
   Proteins within cell membranes serve many important functions, including   
   communicating with the environment, catalyzing chemical reactions, and   
   moving compounds and ions across the membranes. When a membrane protein   
   receptor is activated, charged ions move across a membrane channel,   
   triggering a function in the cell. For example, brain neurons or muscle   
   cells fire when cues from nerves signal charged calcium-ion channels   
   to open.   
      
   The researchers have created a biosensor that starts with a conducting   
   polymer, which is soft and easy to work with, on top of a support that   
   together act as an electric circuit that is monitored by a computer. A   
   layer of lipid (fat) molecules, which forms the membrane, lies on top   
   of the polymer, and the proteins of interest are placed within the lipids.   
      
   In this proof of concept, the researchers have created a cell-free   
   platform that allowed them to synthesize a model protein directly into   
   this artificial membrane. The system has a dual readout technology built   
   in. Since the components of the sensor are transparent, researchers   
   can use optical techniques, such as engineering proteins that fluoresce   
   when activated, which allows scientists to study the fundamentals via   
   microscope, and observe what happens to the protein itself during a   
   cellular process. They can also record electronic activity to see how   
   the protein is functioning through clever circuit design.   
      
   "This really is the first demonstration of leveraging cell-free synthesis   
   of transmembrane proteins into biosensors," Daniel said. "There's   
   no reason why we wouldn't be able to express many different kinds of   
   proteins into this general platform."  Currently, researchers have used   
   proteins grown and extracted from living cells for similar applications,   
   but given this advance, users won't have to grow proteins in cells and   
   then harvest and embed them in the membrane platform.   
      
   Instead, they can synthesize them directly from DNA, the basic template   
   for proteins.   
      
   "We can bypass the whole process of the cell as the factory that produces   
   the protein," Daniel said, "and biomanufacture the proteins ourselves."   
   With such a system, a drug chemist interested in a particular protein   
   implicated in a disease might flow potentially therapeutic molecules   
   across that protein to see how it responds. Or a scientist looking to   
   create an environmental sensor could place on the platform a particular   
   protein that is sensitive to a chemical or pollutant, such as those   
   found in lake water.   
      
   "If you think of your nose, or your tongue, every time you smell or   
   taste something, ion channels are firing," Manzer said. Scientists   
   may now take the proteins being activated when we smell something and   
   translate the results into this electronic system to sense things that   
   might be undetectable with a chemical sensor."  The new sensor opens   
   the door for pharmacologists to research how to create non-opioid pain   
   medicines, or drugs to treat Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, which   
   interact with cell membrane proteins.   
      
   Surajit Ghosh, a postdoctoral researcher in Daniel's lab, is a co-first   
   author.   
      
   Neha Kamat, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Northwestern   
   University, is a senior co-author of the paper.   
      
   The study was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Air Force   
   Office of Scientific Research, the American Heart Association, the   
   National Institute of General Medical Sciences and the Defense Advanced   
   Research Projects Agency.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Matter_&_Energy   
                   # Biochemistry # Organic_Chemistry # Detectors #   
                   Technology   
             o Computers_&_Math   
                   # Neural_Interfaces # Mobile_Computing # Computer_Science   
                   # Computer_Modeling   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Passive_infrared_sensors o Cholesterol o Protein o   
             Integrated_circuit o Periodic_table o Mobile_phone o   
             Resonance_(chemistry) o Metal   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by Cornell_University. Original written   
   by Krishna Ramanujan, courtesy of the Cornell Chronicle. Note: Content   
   may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Zachary A. Manzer, Surajit Ghosh, Arpita Roy, Miranda L. Jacobs,   
      Juliana   
         Carten, Neha P. Kamat, Susan Daniel. Cell-Free Synthesis Goes   
         Electric: Dual Optical and Electronic Biosensor via Direct Channel   
         Integration into a Supported Membrane Electrode. ACS Synthetic   
         Biology, 2023; DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00531   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/02/230207191600.htm   
      
   --- up 49 weeks, 1 day, 10 hours, 50 minutes   
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)   
   SEEN-BY: 15/0 106/201 114/705 123/120 153/7715 226/30 227/114 229/110   
   SEEN-BY: 229/111 112 113 114 307 317 400 426 428 470 664 700 292/854   
   SEEN-BY: 298/25 305/3 317/3 320/219 396/45   
   PATH: 317/3 229/426