New technique may speed DNA analysis

May 23, 2005
New technique may speed DNA analysis

Just as the printing press revolutionized the creation of reading matter, a "nano-printing" technique developed at MIT could enable the mass production of nano-devices currently built one at a time.

These DNA dots, each only about 200 nanometers in diameter, were printed using a new 'nano-printing' technique developed at MIT. Image courtesy / Francesco Stellacci and Arum Amy Yu

The most immediate candidate for this innovation is the DNA microarray, a nano-device used to diagnose and understand genetic illnesses such as Alzheimer's, viral illnesses such as AIDS, and certain types of cancer. The ability to mass produce these complex devices would make DNA analysis as common and inexpensive as blood testing, and thus greatly accelerate efforts to discover the origins of disease.

The demand for ever-shrinking devices of ever-increasing complexity in areas from biomedicine to information technology has spurred several research efforts toward high-resolution, high-throughput nano-printing techniques. Professor Francesco Stellacci and graduate student Arum Amy Yu, both in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, have developed a printing method that is unmatched in both information content per printing cycle and resolution. They achieved the latter using what Yu calls "nature's most efficient printing technique: the DNA/RNA information transfer."

In the new printing method, called Supramolecular Nano-Stamping (SuNS), single strands of DNA essentially self-assemble upon a surface to duplicate a nano-scale pattern made of their complementary DNA strands. The duplicates are identical to the master and can thus be used as masters themselves. This increases print output exponentially while enabling the reproduction of very complex nano-scale patterns.

One such pattern is found on a DNA microarray, a silicon or glass chip printed with up to 500,000 tiny dots. Each dot comprises multiple DNA molecules of known sequence, i.e. a piece of an individual's genetic code. Scientists use DNA microarrays to discover and analyze a person's DNA or messenger-RNA genetic code. This allows for, say, the early diagnosis of liver cancer, or the prediction of the chances that a couple will produce a child with a genetic disease.

Frequent, widespread use of these devices is hindered by the fact that producing them is a painstaking process that involves at least 400 printing steps and costs approximately $500 per microarray.

MIT's nano-printing method requires only three steps and could reduce the cost of each microarray to under $50. "This would completely revolutionize diagnostics," said Stellacci. With the ability to mass produce these devices and thus make DNA analysis routine, "we could know years in advance of cancer, hepatitis, or Alzheimer's."

Another benefit would be large-scale diagnostics that could provide useful information about disease. Take diabetes. "We don't know if it's genetic. The only way to find out is to test a lot of people," said Stellacci. "The more we test with microarrays, the more we know about illnesses, and the more we can detect them."

SuNS has applications beyond DNA microarrays. Materials both organic and inorganic (metal nanoparticles, for example) can be made to assemble along a pattern composed of DNA strands. This makes SuNS a versatile technology that could be used to produce other complex nano-devices currently manufactured slowly and expensively: micro- and nano-fluidics channels, single-electron transistors, optical biosensors and metallic wires, to name a few.

Stellacci recently received renewed funding from the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation to continue work on SuNS. The work is also funded by the National Science Foundation.

A version of this article appeared in the May 18, 2005 issue of MIT Tech Talk (Volume 49, Number 28).

Source: MIT (by Lauren J. Clark)

3.4 /5 (9 votes)  

Rank 3.4 /5 (9 votes)
Tags

Related Stories
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

What lies beneath: Mapping hidden nanostructures

The ability to diagnose and predict the properties of materials is vital, particularly in the expanding field of nanotechnology. Electron and atom-probe microscopy can categorize atoms in thin sheets of material, ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created 11 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1

New kind of solar cell could capture significantly more energy than current cells

New solar cells could increase the maximum efficiency of solar panels by over 25%, according to scientists from the University of Cambridge.

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Feb 08, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (12) | comments 14 | with audio podcast

'Dark plasmons' transmit energy

Microscopic channels of gold nanoparticles have the ability to transmit electromagnetic energy that starts as light and propagates via "dark plasmons," according to researchers at Rice University.

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Feb 09, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Nanoshell whispering galleries improve thin solar panels

Visitors to Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol Building may have experienced a curious acoustic feature that allows a person to whisper softly at one side of the cavernous, half-domed room and for another on ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Feb 07, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (6) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

Revealing how a battery material works

Since its discovery 15 years ago, lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) has become one of the most promising materials for rechargeable batteries because of its stability, durability, safety and ability to deliver ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Feb 08, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast


Google users warned of threat to smartphone wallets

Users of Google smartphone wallets were being warned on Friday that there is a way to crack pass codes intended to thwart thieves from going on illicit shopping sprees.

Anonymous knocks CIA website offline (Update)

The website of the Central Intelligence Agency was inaccessible on Friday after the hacker group Anonymous claimed to have knocked it offline.

Complex wiring of the nervous system may rely on a just a handful of genes and proteins

Researchers at the Salk Institute have discovered a startling feature of early brain development that helps to explain how complex neuron wiring patterns are programmed using just a handful of critical genes. ...

New error-correcting codes guarantee the fastest possible rate of data transmission

Error-correcting codes are one of the triumphs of the digital age. They’re a way of encoding information so that it can be transmitted across a communication channel — such as an optical fiber o ...

The power of estrogen -- male snakes attract other males

A new study has shown that boosting the estrogen levels of male garter snakes causes them to secrete the same pheromones that females use to attract suitors, and turned the males into just about the sexiest ...

Putting the squeeze on planets outside our solar system

(PhysOrg.com) -- Using high-powered lasers, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and collaborators discovered that molten magnesium silicate undergoes a phase change in the liquid state, abruptly ...