Next Generation Nanofluidic Devices for Single Molecule Analysis of DNA Repair Dynamics
Research Project, 2020
– 2025
Double-strand breaks (DSBs) in chromosomes are one of the many types of DNA damage that can occur via normal cellular processes or environmental exposures. DSBs can lead to cell death if left unrepaired; if not repaired properly, they can cause deletions, translocations and fusions in the DNA. By its nature, a DSB is located at the end of a DNA strand, rendering it difficult to study with conventional single DNA molecule methods that involve anchoring the DNA at its ends to hold it in place. The EU-funded nanoDNArepair project is creating a nanofluidics platform to study DNA repair at a single-molecule level. After trapping the DNA within a nanofluidic channel, proteins can be added or removed through a slit perpendicular to the length of the channel. The pioneering setup will enable access to unprecedented spatio-temporal details of DNA repair processes on genomic length DNA on single DNA molecules.
Participants
Fredrik Westerlund (contact)
Chalmers, Life Sciences, Chemical Biology
Funding
European Commission (EC)
Project ID: EC/H2020/866238
Funding Chalmers participation during 2020–2025