July 4th, 2015

Iranian researchers designed a biosensor with application in assessment of effectiveness of drugs on the stability of the four-strand structure of DNA to prevent the growth of cancer cells.

Cost effective production method, quick response and high accuracy are among the advantages of the biosensor. Gold nanoparticles have been used in the production of the biosensor.
The four-strand structure of DNA plays an important role in the process of creation of cancerous cells and in the prohibition of a type of active enzyme in cancers. Therefore, it is very important to study the stability of this structure on biosensors and to create a simple method to investigate their interactions with a number of drugs and compounds. The studies can be used in the diagnosis, designing and production of anticancer drugs.
The research team presented an effective method to detect the four-strand structure of DNA by using biosensors. This method was also used in the evaluation of the performance of a number of drugs that stabilize this structure.
Electrochemical studies showed that the designed biosensor creates an appropriate environment for the evaluation of the drug abilities to stabilize the structure. The most important advantage of this biosensor is the quick detection of drugs that are able to stabilize the four-strand structure of DNA and to interact with it.
In this research, printing graphite electrode modified with silica and gold nanoparticles was used as an appropriate bed for the production of biosensor to detect four-strand structure of DNA and to study its interaction with a number of drugs.