Aptamer imaging mass spectrometry for biomarker quantification

该项目旨在开发新的方法来量化组织标本中的生物标记物，使用适体、镧系元素可视化标记和激光消融等离子体质谱。适配子是一种短的合成核酸链，具有复杂的三维结构，以精致的特异性结合靶标。这项技术弥补了目前成像方式的一个主要空白，在基础生物学和诊断学中有广泛的应用，并将消除对免疫组织化学染色的主观解释。

This project aims to develop novel methods for quantifying bio-markers in histological specimens using aptamers, lanthanide visualising tags and laser ablation plasma mass spectrometry. Aptamers are short synthetic strands of nucleic acid with complex three dimensional structures that bind targets with exquisite specificity. This technology meets a major gap in current imaging modalities, has wide application to basic biology and diagnostics, and will eliminate the subjective interpretation of immunohistochemical stains.