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Science 6 January 1995:
Vol. 267. no. 5194, pp. 74 - 77
DOI: 10.1126/science.7809609
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Articles

Science, Vol 267, Issue 5194, 74-77
Copyright © 1995 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Single cells as biosensors for chemical separations

JB Shear, HA Fishman, NL Allbritton, D Garigan, RN Zare, and RH Scheller

Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, CA 94305.

A biosensor system based on the response of living cells was demonstrated that can detect specific components of a complex mixture fractionated by a microcolumn separation technique. This system uses ligand-receptor binding and signal-transduction pathways to biochemically amplify the presence of an analyte after electrophoretic separation. The transduced signal was measured by means of two approaches: (i) fluorescence determination of intracellular calcium concentrations in one or more rat PC-12 cells and (ii) measurement of transmembrane current in a Xenopus laevis oocyte microinjected with messenger RNA that encodes a specific receptor. This analysis system has the potential to identify biologically active ligands present in a complex mixture with exceptional sensitivity and selectivity.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
The Physiologic Concentration of Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate in the Oocytes of Xenopus laevis.
V. Luzzi, C. E. Sims, J. S. Soughayer, and N. L. Allbritton (1998)
J. Biol. Chem. 273, 28657-28662
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