Nano-Biotechnology

DNA Sewing Made Easy

Newly minituarized sewing machine could have applications in molecular electronics as well

By Gabriel Gache, Science News Editor

14th of July 2008, 09:28 GMT

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Diagram showing how a DNA strand can be manipulated with the help of the newly invented microdevice

How can one bond two DNA strands without breaking them? Well, by using a micro-sized DNA sewing machine of course! An article published in the Royal Society of Chemistry Journal Lab on a Chip has recently detailed an invention created by Japanese scientists which allows researchers to bond and manipulate individual DNA strands into long shapes without running the risk of breaking them in the process.

Bonding an individual DNA strand to another one similar to it is critical for the diagnosis of genetic disorders, such as Down's syndrome, since similar genes become fluorescent in the process thus are easier to spot. However, the procedure is often complicated as the DNA strands either break or become too coiled to be manipulated. However, the new device invented by Kyohei Terao of the Kyoto University along with colleagues from the University of Tokyo is able to catch and straighten DNA strands with incredible precision.

"When a DNA molecule is manipulated and straightened by microhooks and bobbins, the gene location can be determined easily with high-spatial resolution," says Terao.

With the help of Z-shaped microhooks controlled with an optical tweezer, the device can pick up a single DNA strand and manipulate it. In order to keep the long DNA chain from coiling around itself, the machine then winds up the thread around microbobbins also controlled by focused laser beams, by rotating one around the other so that the wound up DNA chain can then be moved to another location along with the microbobbins.

"It is an excellent idea to fabricate unique microtools that enables us to manipulate a single giant DNA molecule", says Yoshinobu Baba of the Nagoya University, a researcher who focuses his work on microdevices useful in biology. Alternatively, the newly created device may have applications in a number of different other areas such as DNA sequencing or molecular electronics, Baba added.

TAGS:

DNA | Down's syndrome | fluorescence | microdevices | electronics

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