MinJun Kim, the Robert C. Womack Endowed Chair Professor at SMU Lyle Faculty of Engineering, and his analysis group have obtained a $300,000 grant from the Nationwide Science Basis to develop a nanosensor that may enhance the accuracy of gene remedy. This may enable for more practical scientific trials with fewer uncomfortable side effects.
Picture Credit score: Southern Methodist College
Whereas gene remedy holds nice promise as a transformative therapy for quite a few illnesses, it comes with dangers and challenges. Modifying an individual’s genes requires precision—focusing on the right tissue, delivering the correct amount of DNA, and guaranteeing it capabilities over the suitable time frame.
Since 2015, greater than 2,200 scientific research for gene remedy have been carried out, many involving liposomes—small lipid bubbles that ship DNA into cells. Profitable supply is dependent upon 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 group 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 would considerably scale back the price of gene remedy therapies whereas guaranteeing excessive accuracy in dose management.
MinJun Kim, Robert C. Womack Endowed Chair Professor, Southern Methodist College
The challenge is extremely multidisciplinary, encompassing biochemistry, gene transport, nanofabrication, nanophotonics, and nanopore biosensing. The group expects this examine to draw undergraduate and graduate college students with numerous STEM pursuits.
Kim added, “Molecular characterization via 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 america Nationwide Science Basis below grant No. 2421778.
Supply: