• ETRI Journal
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.667-669
• /
• 2007

This letter presents a smart integrated microfluidic device which can be applied to actively immobilize proteins on demand. The active component in the device is a temperature-controllable microelectrode array with a smart polymer film, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) which can be thermally switched between hydrophilic and hydrophobic states. It is integrated into a micro hot diaphragm having an integrated micro heater and temperature sensors on a 2-micrometer-thick silicon oxide/silicon nitride/silicon oxide (O/N/O) template. Only 36 mW is required to heat the large template area of 2 mm${\times}$16 mm to $40^{\circ}C$ within 1 second. To relay the stimulus-response activity to the microelectrode surface, the interface is modified with a smart polymer. For a model biomolecular affinity test, an anti-6-(2, 4-dinitrophenyl) aminohexanoic acid (DNP) antibody protein immobilization on the microelectrodes is demonstrated by fluorescence patterns.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.90-95
• /
• 2011

In order to protect human lives from disease, various biosensors having the potential to analyze a variety of biomolecules have been utilized. Biosensors constitute one of the most promising ways to monitor and detect various biomolecules corresponding to diseases. In this study, we demonstrate that the reaction of streptavidin molecules with biotin on a gold electrode can be detected using the twoelectrode method with a gold electrode and a platinum reference electrode. We also show the characteristics of the electrical current response. While detecting 2-${\mu}M$ streptavidin molecules dissolved in phosphate buffered saline(PBS) solution, we found that an analytical biosensor can operate on the principle of detecting an antigen-antibody reaction event of protein molecules using the two-electrode method. We think that the "potential step" method might be useful to detect the occurrence of any antigen-antibody reactions and can be combined with other devices or ICs such as BJTs, MOSFETs, and OP-amps for the detection of biomolecules of diseases.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
• /
• v.40 no.10
• /
• pp.2054-2061
• /
• 2015

Biologically inspired modeling techniques have received considerable attention for their robustness, scalability, and adaptability with simple local interactions and limited information. Among these modeling techniques, Gene Regulatory Networks (GRNs) play a central role in understanding natural evolution and the development of biological organisms from cells. In this paper, we apply GRN principles to the WSN system and propose a new GRN model for decentralized node scheduling design to achieve energy balancing while meeting delay requirements. Through this scheme, each sensor node schedules its state autonomously in response to gene expression and protein concentration, which are controlled by the proposed GRN-inspired node scheduling model. Simulation results indicate that the proposed scheme achieves superior performance with energy balancing as well as desirable delay compared with other well-known schemes.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.53-58
• /
• 2009

Calcium signals can be transduced by binding calmodulin (CaM), a $Ca^{2+}$ sensor in eukaryotes, is known to be involved in the regulation of diverse cellular functions. We isolated a CaM-binding protein 63 kD (AtCBP63) from the pathogen-treated Arabidopsis cDNA expression library. Recently, AtCBP63 was identified as a CaM bining protein. The CaM binding domain of AtCBP63 was reported to be located in its N-terminal region, In this study, however, we showed that ACaM2 could specifically bind to second CaM-binding domain (CaMBD) of AtCBP63 at the C-terminal region. The specific binding of CaM to CaM binding domain was confirmed by a gel mobility shift assay, a split ubiquitin assay, site-directed mutagenesis, and a competition assay using a $Ca^{2+}$/CaM-dependent enzyme. The gene expression of AtCBP63 was induced by pathogens and pathogens related second messengers. This result suggests that a CaM binding protein, AtCBP63, may play role in pathogen defense signaling pathway.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.43-47
• /
• 2008

The nickel and cobalt resistance of Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34 is mediated by the CnrCBA efflux pump encoded by the cnrYHXCBAT metal resistance determinant. The products of the three genes cnrYXH transcriptionally regulate expression of cnr. CnrY and CnrX are membrane-bound proteins, probably functioning as anti-sigma factors, whereas CnrH is a cnr-specific extracytoplasmic functions (ECF) sigma factor. The periplasmic domain of CnrX (residues 29-148) was cloned as a N-terminal His-tagged protein, expressed in Escherichia coli, and purified using affinity chromatography and gel filtration. The molecular mass was estimated to be about 13.6kDa by size exclusion chromatography, corresponding to a monomer. The tetragonal bipyramid crystals were obtained by mixing an equal volume of protein in 50mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.5, 1% glycerol, 100mM NaCl, 1mM DTT, and the reservoir solution of 15% w/v PEG 2000, 100mM lithium chloride at 277K in 2-4 days using hanging drop vapor diffusion. The protein concentration was 24mg/ml. The crystal that diffracted to $2.42{\AA}$ resolution belongs to space group $P4_1\;or\;P4_3$ with unit cell parameters of $a=b=32.14{\AA},\;c=195.31{\AA},\;{\alpha}={\beta}={\gamma}=90^{\circ}$, with one molecule of CnrX in the asymmetric unit.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.38 no.10
• /
• pp.843-850
• /
• 2015

The1hepatic cell death induced by acetaminophen (APAP) is closely related to cellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) depletion, which is mainly caused by mitochondrial dysfunction. Adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a key sensor of low energy status. AMPK regulates metabolic homeostasis by stimulating catabolic metabolism and suppressing anabolic pathways to increase cellular energy levels. We found that the decrease in active phosphorylation of AMPK in response to APAP correlates with decreased ATP levels, in vivo. Therefore, we hypothesized that the enhanced production of ATP via AMPK stimulation can lead to amelioration of APAP-induced liver failure. A769662, an allosteric activator of AMPK, produced a strong synergistic effect on AMPK Thr172 phosphorylation with APAP in primary hepatocytes and liver tissue. Interestingly, activation of AMPK by A769662 ameliorated the APAP-induced hepatotoxicity in C57BL/6N mice treated with APAP at a dose of 400 mg/kg intraperitoneally. However, mice treated with APAP alone developed massive centrilobular necrosis, and APAP increased their serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels. Furthermore, A769662 administration prevented the loss of intracellular ATP without interfering with the APAP-mediated reduction of mitochondrial dysfunction. In contrast, inhibition of glycolysis by 2-deoxy-glucose eliminated the beneficial effects of A769662 on APAP-mediated liver injury. In conclusion, A769662 can effectively protect mice against APAP-induced liver injury through ATP synthesis by anaerobic glycolysis. Furthermore, stimulation of AMPK may have potential therapeutic application for APAP overdose.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.42 no.3
• /
• pp.125-142
• /
• 2021

The POCT (point-of-care test) sensing that has been a fast-developing field is expected to be a next generation technology in health care. The POCT sensors for the detection of proteins, small molecules and especially nucleic acids have lately attracted considerable attention. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the POCT methods are required to follow the ASSURED guidelines (Affordable, Sensitive, Specific, User- friendly, Robust and rapid, Equipment-free, Deliverable to all people who need the test). Recently, several CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) based diagnostic techniques using the sensitive gene recognition function of CRISPR have been reported. CRISPR/Cas (Cas, CRISPR associated protein) systems based detection technology is the most innovative gene analysis technology that is following the ASSURED guidelines. It is being re-emerged as a powerful diagnostic tool that can detect nucleic acids due to its characteristics that enable rapid, sensitive and specific analyses of nucleic acid. The first CRISPR-based diagnosis begins with the discovery of the additional function of Cas13a. The enzymatic cleavage occurs when the conjugate of Cas protein and CRISPR RNA (crRNA) detect a specific complementary sequence of the target sequence. Enzymatic cleavage occurs on not only the target sequence, but also all surrounding non-target single-stranded RNAs. This discovery was immediately utilized as a biosensor, and numerous sensor studies using CRISPR have been reported since then. In this review, the concept of CRISPR, the characteristics of the Cas protein required for CRISPR diagnosis, the current research trends of CRISPR diagnostic technology, and some aspects to be improved in the future are covered.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.9-14
• /
• 2003

Recent studies indicated that cancer cells become resistant to ionizing radiation (IR) and chemotherapy drugs by enhanced DNA repair of the lesions. Therefore, it is expected to increase the killing of cancer cells and reduce drug resistance by inhibiting DNA repair pathways that tumor cells rely on to escape chemotherapy. There are a number of key human DNA repair pathways which depend on multimeric polypeptide activities. For example, Ku heterodimer regulatory DNA binding subunits (Ku70/Ku80) on binding to double strand DNA breaks (DSBs) are able to interact with 470-kDa DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs), and are essential for DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) activity. It has been known that DNA-PK is an important factor for DNA repair and also is a sensor-transmitting damage signal to downstream targets, leading to cell cycles arrest. Our ultimate goal is to develop a treatment of breast tumors by targeting proteins involved in damage-signaling pathway and/or DNA repair. This would greatly facilitate tumor cell cytotoxic activity and programmed cell death through DNA damaging drug treatment. Therefore, we designed a domain of Ku80 mutants that binds to Ku70 but not DNA end binding activity and used the peptide in co-therapy strategy to see whether the targeted inhibition of DNA-PK activity sensitized breast cancer cells to irradiation or chemotherapy drug. We observed that the synthesized peptide (HNI-38) prevented DNA-PKcs from binding to Ku70/Ku80, thus resulting in inactivation of DNA-PK activity. Consequently, the peptide treated cells exhibited poor to no DNA repair, and became highly sensitive to IR or chemotherapy drugs, and the growth of breast cancer cells was inhibited. Additionally, the results obtained in the present study also support the physiological role of resistance of cancer cells to IR or chemotherapy.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.213-227
• /
• 2002

To date, the majority of biosensor technologies use binding components such as enzymes antibodies, nucleic acids and protein ligands. In contrast, the goal underlying the use of cells and tissues of animals and plants for a sensor system is to obtain systems capable of extracting information based on the biological activity, mechanisms of action and consequences of exposure to a chemical or biological agent of interest. These systems enable the interrogation of more complex biological response and offer the potential to gather higher information content from measuring physiologic and metabolic response. In these articles, same of the recent trends and applications of microbial biosensors in environmental monitoring and for use in food and fermentations have been reviewed. This endeavor presents many technological challenges to fabricate new microbial biosensors for other scientific field.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.158-163
• /
• 2006

This paper reports a novel immunoassay method using superparamagnetic nanoparticles and an enhanced magnetic field gradient for the detection of protein in a microfluidic device. We use superparamagnetic nanoparticles as a label and fluorescent polystyrene beads as a solid support. Based on this platform, magnetic force-based microfluidic immunoassay is successfully applied to analyze the concentration of IgG as model analytes. In addition, we present ferromagnetic microstructure connected with a permanent magnet to increase magnetic flux density gradient (dB/dx, ${\sim}10^{4}$ T/m), which makes limit of detection reduced. The detection limit is reduced to about 1 pg/mL.