( Researchers at Nanosphere Inc. today...)Novel technology detects human DNA mutations

Nanosphere's nanoparticle-based technology allows for rapid, highly-sensitive and specific Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) genotyping, which is the direct detection of a particular gene and the extent to which it is normal or mutated. The technology, reported in the February 2005 (Volume 33, Number 2), issue of Nucleic Acids Research, allows detection of a SNP in an unknown genotype with a greater than 99 percent confidence threshold and can be used with human DNA obtained from samples as small as a drop of blood. Importantly, the technology eliminates the need for costly, time and labor intensive gene amplification or enzymatic interventions ?two widespread methods currently used to perform such analyses.

"Nanosphere's new SNP analysis methodology for whole genomic human DNA is a powerful example of the versatility of our proprietary ClearReadTM nanoparticle technology," said William Moffitt, Nanosphere's President and CEO. "This study and the use of nanoparticles to dramatically increase sensitivity in our other proprietary applications -- such as bio-barcode for ultra sensitive detection of proteins -- demonstrate the broad applicability of nanotechnology and its potential to markedly advance the state-of-the-art in nucleic acid and proteomic research and diagnostics." The analysis of whole human genomic DNA is extraordinarily complex as it requires sifting through the more than one billion base pairs of DNA to find a particular base pair of interest. Once that base pair is located, it is then necessary to determine if either of the bases is mutated (i.e., has SNPs). Nanosphere's technology can rapidly, easily, and accurately interrogate both bases in the pair to determine if they are homozy
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Source:Eurekalert