Wednesday, June 28, 2006

In a collaboration between the laboratories of Greg Weiss and Reg Penner , a prototype of a biosensor based on the attachment of virus particles to a gold electrode has been developed. The attached virus particles are engineered using phage display to recognize and bind both an antibody and a prostate cancer marker called PSMA. Exposure of the virus-coated electrode to either of these molecules caused an increase in both the mass of the surface, and its electrical resistance. Concentrations of PSMA down to 120 nM were detectable at this biosensor. The advantage of this approach, in principle, is that viruses can be engineered using phage display to recognize and bind virtually any molecule.

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