Bio and Medicine

Developing antiviral therapeutics and vaccines requires close study of the viruses that cause disease. But how can these small germs be isolated from complex biological samples like saliva?

From safeguarding our food supply to preventing hospital infections, the battle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a growing challenge. Some bacteria can form biofilms, thick aggregates of millions of individual cells surrounded by protective mucus-like substances that easily adhere to surfaces. Forming such biofilms is a critical bacterial strategy to resist treatment.

Mass spectrometry is a powerful technique that allows scientists to break down and identify the building blocks of just about anything by measuring the mass of the tiny particles of which something is comprised. It has a major limitation, however—about 99% of the sample being measured is typically lost before analysis even begins.

A new molecular engineering technique can precisely influence the development of organoids. Microbeads made of specifically folded DNA are used to release growth factors or other signal molecules inside the tissue structures. This gives rise to considerably more complex organoids that imitate the respective tissues much better and have a more realistic cell mix than before.

Dr. Min-young Lee and Dr. Sung-gyu Park of the Advanced Bio and Healthcare Materials Research Division at KIMS have developed a technology that can detect cancer mutant genes in blood with the world’s highest sensitivity of 0.000000001% based on plasmonic nanomaterials for optical signal amplification. The team tested blood samples from lung cancer patients (stages 1-4) and healthy individuals for EGFR mutations and achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 96%.