The broad, long-term objective of the research is to develop a biosensor platform that can be adapted to detection of a wide variety of pathogens, toxins, and biological molecules. The immediate application is to cryptosporidium, a protozoan that is a common, naturally occurring contaminant of public water supplies. It is also a potential bio-terror agent that could cause serious illness with many deaths among the elderly, infants, and immunocompromised individuals. The project aims specifically to identify DNA """"""""c-probe"""""""" sequences from pools of billions or trillions of candidates that have high affinity for cryptosporidium and adapting the high affinity binding sequnces into a fluorescent biosensor. A protocol is described that should allow efficient discovery of these sequences within days, as opposed to the current practice that often requires months of effort by skilled practitioners. Development of a high throughput screening method that is much faster and more versatile than the existing methods, coupled with novel pyrosequencing technology will be key in the excution of the proposal's main objectives.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F31)
Project #
5F31GM086129-02
Application #
7672249
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-GGG-T (29))
Program Officer
Toliver, Adolphus
Project Start
2008-08-16
Project End
2011-03-31
Budget Start
2009-08-16
Budget End
2010-08-15
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$40,570
Indirect Cost
Name
Syracuse University
Department
Chemistry
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
002257350
City
Syracuse
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
13244
Kupakuwana, Gillian V; Crill 2nd, James E; McPike, Mark P et al. (2011) Acyclic identification of aptamers for human alpha-thrombin using over-represented libraries and deep sequencing. PLoS One 6:e19395