Manufacturing and biological evaluations of stimuli-responsive polymersomes toward...
| Grant number: | 13/15892-4 |
| Support type: | Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree |
| Effective date (Start): | September 14, 2013 |
| Effective date (End): | December 13, 2013 |
| Field of knowledge: | Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry |
| Principal Investigator: | Emanuel Carrilho |
| Grantee: | Beatriz Nogueira Messias de Miranda |
| Supervisor abroad: | David A. Weitz |
| Home Institution: | Instituto de Química de São Carlos (IQSC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil |
| Local de pesquisa : | Harvard University, Cambridge, United States |
| Associated to the scholarship: | 11/16364-6 - Cloning, expression and purification of folate receptor alpha precursor from homo sapiens for bioanalytical applications for cancer research, BP.MS |
Abstract Cancer cells have specific receptors with high affinity to folate and are highly replicative. Alpha folate receptor (FR-±) are extracellular proteins with specific biochemical properties, since with rare exceptions, it is induced selectively in cancerous tissues and rarely expressed in normal cells, being highly sensitive and specific. Aiming disease detection, our group reported the use of a new type of biosensors for the detection of biomarkers in urine, blood, or other body fluids providing simple operation, low cost, and high speed for cancer diagnosis. Although, more tests are still needed to determine the detection limits, kinetic constants, and binding affinities between proteins and ligand could be obtained in the proposed biosensor. In order to make this technology applicable we are trying to create a biomimetic cancer cell that would help us in improving the technology before applying to real disease cases. Biological samples are not always available in chemistry labs, so we are producing FR-± heterologously and our ultimate goal is to immobilize FR-± on a microsystem mimicking a cancer cell that will become an analytical standard for studies with our biosensors. Since our limitation is the lack of the technologies and expertize in particle synthesis, we propose this Research Internships Abroad (BEPE) project, in collaboration with Professor David Weitz group for an internship in which the student will learn about production of polymersome vesicles. It would be of extreme value to both the student and to our research group, which is intending to investigate biochips and biomimetic chips. (AU) | |