FOR 434: Oligosaccharide and DNA Chips - Recognition of Secondary Gene Products

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The availability of genomic information for entire organisms presents chemists and biologists with new opportunities, but also with new challenges. The traditional single experiment approach does not allow mining the biological information to the extent desirable. Instead, massively parallel experiments have to be developed. Biochips are arguably the most important tool in the rapidly growing repertoire ofgenomic scientists, since they allow performing molecular recognitionexperiments with thousands of biological target structures. The research unit "Oligosaccharide and DNA Chips - Recognition of Secondary Gene Products" focuses on developing new types of biochips, improving the selectivity of known types of biochips, and establishing new biomolecular recognition phenomena that may later be employed in novel biochips. Organic synthesis, biophysical characterization, and testing of biological activities are core techniques. Among the compounds to be immobilized on chip surfaces are oligosaccharides and oligonucleotides. The principles of molecular recognition are studied for antigens, lipoteichoic acids, and membrane-bound oligosaccharides. The research unit employs aninterdisciplinary, four-pronged approach based on organic synthesis,structure elucidation, biological testing, and physical measurements in solutions and on surfaces.