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Like a two-way radio that can both receive and transmit radio waves, a fluorescent nanoantenna designed by Alexis Vallée-Bélisle and his team receives one color of light, senses protein movement based on it, and transmits the light back to another colors that we can detect
.
One of the main innovations of these nanoantennas is that the receiver portion of the antenna (bright green) is also used to sense the molecular surface of proteins through molecular interactions
Researchers at the Université de Montréal have created a nanoantenna to monitor the movement of proteins
.
Reported this week in the journal Nature Methods, the device is a new way to monitor changes in protein structure over time and may help scientists better understand both natural and human-designed nanotechnology
Alexis Vallée-Bélisle, professor of chemistry and senior author of the study, said: "This result is very exciting, and we are currently working to build a start-up company to commercialize this nanoantenna, allowing most researchers and the pharmaceutical industry to can use it
.
”
Antennas work like two-way radios
More than 40 years ago, researchers invented the first DNA synthesizers to generate molecules that encode genetic information
.
"In recent years, chemists have realized that DNA can also be used to build various nanostructures and nanomachines," added the researcher, who also holds the Canada Research Chair in Bioengineering and Bio-Nanotechnology
"Inspired by the 'Lego-like' properties of DNA, we have created a DNA-based fluorescent nanoantenna that can help describe the function
of proteins," he said.
"Like a two-way radio that can both receive and emit radio waves, the fluorescent nanoantenna takes in one color or wavelength of light and, based on the protein motion it senses, transmits the light back to another color, which we can detect.
One of the main innovations of these nanoantennas is that the receiver portion of the antenna is also used to sense the molecular surface of proteins through molecular interactions
.
One of the main advantages of using DNA to design these nanoantennas is that DNA chemistry is relatively simple and programmable," said Scott Harron, a Ph.
D.
student in chemistry at the university and the study's first author
.
"This DNA-based nanoantenna can be synthesized with different lengths and flexibility to optimize its function," he said.
"
We can easily attach fluorescent molecules to DNA, and then attach this fluorescent nanoantenna to biological nanomachines.
on, such as enzymes
"By carefully tuning the design of the nanoantennas, we created antennas up to 5 nanometers long that generate different signals when the protein performs its biological function
.
"
Scientists believe that fluorescent nanoantennas open up many exciting avenues for biochemistry and nanotechnology
.
"For example, for the first time, we were able to examine the function of alkaline phosphatase with various biomolecules and drugs in real time," Harron said
.
"This enzyme has been implicated in many diseases, including various cancers and intestinal inflammation, and could also help chemists identify promising new drugs as well as guide nanoengineers in developing improved nanomachines
A major advance in these nanoantennas is also their ease of use, the scientists said
.
Vallée-Bélisle said: "Perhaps what excites us most is that many laboratories around the world are equipped with conventional fluorescence spectrometers and can easily use these nanoantennas to study their favorite proteins, such as to identify new drugs or develop new nanoscale technology
.
"
Magazine
Nature Methods
DOI
10.
