( Johns Hopkins researchers have devised...)Electric jolt triggers release of biomolecules, nanoparticles

Johns Hopkins researchers have devised a way to use a brief burst of electricity to release biomolecules and nanoparticles from a tiny gold launch pad. The technique could someday be used to dispense small amounts of medicine on command from a chip implanted in the body. The method also may be useful in chemical reactions that require the controlled release of extremely small quantities of a material.

The technique was described Sept. 10 in a presentation by Peter C. Searson, a Johns Hopkins professor of materials science and engineering, during the 232nd national meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco. "You can think of the useful biomolecule or nanoparticle as a balloon tethered to a surface," he said. "We use an electrical pulse to cut the tether, and it floats away."

This method could be used to control the release of drug molecules; nanoparticles; biopolymers such as peptides, proteins and DNA; and protein assemblies such as viruses, said Searson, who also is director of the Institute for NanoBioTechnology at Johns Hopkins.

"The technique is relatively simple, but nothing like this has been done before," he said. "Scientists have known that molecules could be removed from a surface in this way, but it's never been considered useful. They've been more interested in preventing this from happening."

Yet Searson and Johns Hopkins biomedical engineering graduate students Prashant Mali and Nirveek Bhattacharjee concluded that this controlled release of molecules might have important applications in the growing field of nanobiotechnology.

For their experiments, the researchers used gold electrodes, each as thin as a single strand of human hair, fabricated through the same photolithography techniques used to make computer chips. "We used a gold electrode because gold is a good conductor of electricity," said Mali, "and because it's an inert metal, it wouldn't get involved in any of the chemical reactions
'"/>

Source:Johns Hopkins University

Page: 1 2
Related biology news :

1. Researchers Discover That Microbes Can Produce Miniature Electrical Wires
2. What can change in the brain? Electrical synapses, research shows
3. Electric fish in Africa could be example of evolution in action
4. Scientists ID molecular switch in liver that triggers harmful effects of saturated and trans fats
5. Source of molecular triggers in cutaneous T cell lymphoma identified
6. A whole lot of shaking goin on triggers early hatching in red-eyed tree frogs
7. Nicotine triggers the same brain reward circuitry as opiates
8. Sudden change in social status triggers genetic response in male fish, study finds
9. Researchers now able to look deep into heart to view triggers of a hearts beat
10. Drug triggers bodys mechanism to reverse aging effect on memory process
11. Chemical switch triggers critical cell activities