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Friday, 26th June 2009 (1235 views)

Scientists at the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council have used nanotechnology - in which gold is often a vital component - to develop a technique that could increase the development of drugs.

A team led by Professor Michael Overduin of the University of Birmingham in the UK have found a way of stabilising protein, which may result in the number of proteins being available for study increasing by up to 30 per cent.

"We have shown how a polymer can wrap around and preserve membrane proteins intact in stable nanoparticles," Professor Overduin explained.

He added that finding a way of preserving the "structure and activity" of proteins during experimentation had "eluded scientists for decades".

The research, which was jointly led by Dr Tim Dafforn, has been published in the journal of the American Chemical Society.

Researchers in China recently used gold nanoparticles combined with cyanuric acid in the development of a method for detecting melamine, according to Ars Technica.

 

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