GENETIC RESEARCH:
Biochip to determine genetic functions
 Researchers
at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have begun developing a biochip,
an active system of enzymes on a microchip that will rapidly determine
the metabolic functions of large numbers of genetic materials.
The project
is seen as a way to move the science of sequencing the human genome
to the next level, according to Jonathan Dordick, professor and
chair of chemical engineering. Scientists are currently generating
massive amounts of information about gene sequences, he explains.
To best use that information, the functions of the various enzymes
and other proteins expressed by genetic information need to be
determined.
Dordick’s
research group, which includes experts in microelectronics, biology,
computer modeling and data mining, protein adhesion and separation,
and bioinformatics, has succeeded in dissolving an enzyme, alpha-chymotrypsin,
in a solution, which they then used to spin coat a silicon wafer.
Testing indicated that the enzyme continued to function.
Now that
the researchers have proven that enzymes can function effectively
on a silicon wafer, the team has begun to demonstrate the capabilities
of an enzyme-containing biochip by incorporating the 10-step process
of glycolysis, the most fundamental central carbon pathway in
nature, onto a chip.
They plan
to use microelectronic techniques to fabricate all of the enzymes
needed for glycolysis on one silicon waferchip, arranging them
in wells and channels that can be controlled. A reactant will
flow in and be directed through the 10 steps, much as electronic
signals can now be directed around a chip. This will mimic the
flow of reactants through a metabolic pathway
within a living cell.
With this
technology mastered, Dordick says, it will be possible to try
out thousands of variations on one silicon device, changing the
starting compound or one or more of the enzymes. Such a tool has
great promise for rapidly identifying new biological molecules
for pharmaceutical and agrochemical companies.
CONTACT: Theresa Bourgeois, (518) 276-2840,
bourgt@rpi.edu
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