MinJun Kim, the Robert C. Womack Endowed Chair Professor at SMU Lyle College of Engineering, and his analysis workforce have acquired a $300,000 grant from the Nationwide Science Basis to develop a nanosensor that can enhance the accuracy of gene remedy. This may enable for simpler scientific trials with fewer negative effects.
Picture Credit score: Southern Methodist College
Whereas gene remedy holds nice promise as a transformative remedy for quite a few ailments, it comes with dangers and challenges. Modifying an individual’s genes requires precision—focusing on the proper tissue, delivering the correct amount of DNA, and guaranteeing it features over the suitable time frame.
Since 2015, greater than 2,200 scientific research for gene remedy have been performed, many involving liposomes—small lipid bubbles that ship DNA into cells. Profitable supply will depend on loading the DNA in ample quantities and dispersing it uniformly inside the liposomes, a course of that’s presently time-consuming, expensive, and poses high quality management issues.
Kim and his workforce are growing nanosensor know-how that may quantify, classify, and ensure the DNA content material in liposomes on the single-particle stage. This breakthrough will present unprecedented accuracy in DNA dosage and will revolutionize the success charge of gene remedy scientific trials sooner or later.
Our imaginative and prescient is that the event of those nanotechnologies for biosensing will enhance entry to gene therapies. This work represents a main step towards bio-manufacturing that might considerably cut back the price of gene remedy remedies whereas guaranteeing excessive accuracy in dose management.
MinJun Kim, Robert C. Womack Endowed Chair Professor, Southern Methodist College
The venture is very multidisciplinary, encompassing biochemistry, gene transport, nanofabrication, nanophotonics, and nanopore biosensing. The workforce expects this research to draw undergraduate and graduate college students with numerous STEM pursuits.
Kim added, “Molecular characterization by nanopore-based methods is a part of the subsequent frontier in genomics and proteomics for the approaching decade. We consider this work will put together college students for the subsequent step of their careers.”
This materials relies on work sponsored by the USA Nationwide Science Basis underneath grant No. 2421778.
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