New Technology for Cancer Diagnosis: Detection of DNA Methylation Using 2D Nanopore

release time：2019-08-05

[Technology Frontier] In most cancers, methylation of promoter sequences can reflect the development of tumors, and is a biological indicator that is superior to many genetic indicators. Early detection of cancer, like changes in DNA, may help to enhance the research and treatment of cancer, and also help understand the pathogenesis of the disease, a few days ago published in the international journal npj 2D In a study by Materials and applications, researchers from the University of Illinois developed a new method to detect, count, and map DNA methylation, a form of cancer that occurs in DNA methylation. Warning mark. New Technology for Cancer Diagnosis: Detection of DNA Methylation Using 2D Nanopore This new method is capable of passing a DNA strand through a small pore structure called a nanopore, which is located on a thin layer of material through which a current can pass; Professor Jean-Pierre Leburton says one or a series of methyl groups Is not a big problem, but if there is a lot of methylation, and it is tightly "wrapped" together, it will have harmful effects; DNA methylation is actually the beginning stage of cancer, so the researchers think By examining the level of DNA methylation and the "intimacy" between these methylations, this tells the investigator about the stage of cancer. Other methods that use nanopores to detect DNA methylation are effective, but the researchers in this paper have a hole in a plate material that is only one atom or molecule thick. This hole can be submerged by the salt solution, and the current It is capable of driving DNA molecules through the pore. In this study, the researchers tried a slightly different approach, applying current directly to the conductive sheets around the holes, so that researchers could use advanced computer simulations to pass methylated DNA through the holes. Detect currents on different flat materials, such as graphene and molybdenum disulfide. Researcher Leburton said that our simulations show that measuring the current through the membrane rather than the current in the solution seems to be more accurate, if two methylations are tightly adsorbed together, even only 10 base pairs, the researchers Still clearly observed. Researcher Leburton's research team is working with other researchers to improve the spiraling of DNA so that it can cut off noise in electrical signals to help experimentally validate the results of the researchers' simulations. Edit review In recent years, people have begun to study the use of nanopores for genome sequencing and screening analysis. Due to the coincidence of nanotechnology with life macromolecules and subcellular structures on a spatial scale, the development of the former provides more possibilities for the study of proteins, DNA and organelles.