{"73137":{"#nid":"73137","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Sensing Tool Helps Study of Cystic Fibrosis","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers are using an innovative, multi-functional sensing tool to investigate adenosine triphosphate (ATP) release and its role in cystic fibrosis. The ATP study marks the first application of a novel sensing system developed by a research team led by Christine Kranz at the Georgia Institute of Technology. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis patented technology adds recessed micro- and nano-electrodes to the tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM), creating a single tool that can simultaneously monitor topography along with electrochemical activity at the cell surface. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EResearchers presented information on the work March 26 at the American Chemical Society\u0027s 231st National Meeting in Atlanta during a session on new approaches in analytical chemistry. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe new multi-functional imaging technique will advance the study of biological samples, said Boris Mizaikoff, an associate professor at Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and director of its Applied Sensors Lab. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Conventional AFM can image surfaces, but usually provides limited chemical information,\u0022 he explained. \u0022And though scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM), another probing technique, provides laterally resolved electrochemical data, it has limited spatial resolution. By combining AFM and SECM functionality into a single scanning probe, our tool provides researchers with a more holistic view of activities at the cell surface.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to Mizaikoff and Kranz, the team also includes post-doctoral scholar Jean-Francois Masson and graduate student Justyna Wiedemair.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the ATP study, which is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and done in collaboration with Douglas Eaton at Emory University\u0027s School of Physiology, the Georgia Tech team used the multi-scanning biosensors to study ATP release at the surface of live epithelial cells (cells that cover most glands and organs in the body). ATP, a chemical involved in energy transport, is of interest to medical researchers because elevated levels have been linked with cystic fibrosis, a disease that affects one out of every 2,500 people in the United States. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUsing epithelial cell cultures from Emory, the Georgia Tech researchers have demonstrated that their multi-functional biosensors work at the live-cell surface during in vitro studies. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Before you can identify what triggers the ATP release, we must be able to quantitatively measure the released species at the cell surface,\u0022 Mizaikoff said, noting that many pathological events involve the disruption of chemical communication and molecular signaling between cells, especially in the nervous system, lungs and kidneys. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EImproved understanding of cellular communication can lead to new strategies for treating diseases, Mizaikoff added: \u0022Being able to operate sensors in an electrochemical imaging mode at the micro- and nanoscale is an exciting opportunity for complementing optical imaging techniques. There are many clinical research problems that these biosensors can help with.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDuring the same ACS session, the Georgia Tech team also presented findings of a related project.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA collaboration with Estelle Gauda at Johns Hopkins University and also supported by NIH grants, this project monitors ATP release at the carotid body. (The carotid body is a chemoreceptor that, among other functions, monitors oxygen content in the blood and helps control respiration.) \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EChronic oxygen stress - too much or too little oxygen during early postnatal development - can lead to a deficiency in the amount of oxygen reaching body tissues in premature infants and newborn animals. But little is known about how oxygen stress affects regulatory networks and alters chemoreceptors. To gain insights, the Georgia Tech researchers will study ATP, which is among the signaling molecules released by the carotid body. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EResearchers incorporate the same technology used for the multi-functional scanning probe. For this study, however, they have tailored the biosensor to work at a larger scale - the microelectrodes are about 25 micrometers in diameter as opposed to the sub-micrometer dimensions of the combined AFM-SECM approach.    \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022There are a lot of emerging sensor technologies, but few have been adapted for routine use in medical research, which is one of the development goals at the Applied Sensors Lab,\u0022 Mizaikoff said. \u0022As analytical chemists, we want to develop quantitative sensing devices that can answer important questions for clinical researchers.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 100\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia 30308 USA \u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: Jane Sanders (404-894-2214); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jane.sanders@edi.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejane.sanders@edi.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETechnical Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: Boris Mizaikoff (404-894-4030 or 404-936-5367); E-mail:  (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:boris.mizaikoff@chemistry.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eboris.mizaikoff@chemistry.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nChristine Kranz (404-385-1794); E-mail:  (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:christine.kranz@chemistry.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Echristine.kranz@chemistry.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: T.J. Becker\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Multi-functional sensing tool is used to investigate the role of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) release"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"Researchers are using an innovative, multi-functional sensing tool to investigate adenosine triphosphate (ATP) release and its role in cystic fibrosis.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new sensing tool is studying cystic fibrosis"}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2006-03-30 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:34","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2006-03-30T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2006-03-30T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"73138":{"id":"73138","type":"image","title":"ATP sensor","body":null,"created":"1449177979","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:26:19","changed":"1475894671","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:31"},"73139":{"id":"73139","type":"image","title":"Examining ATP data","body":null,"created":"1449177979","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:26:19","changed":"1475894671","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:31"}},"media_ids":["73138","73139"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/faculty\/Mizaikoff\/","title":"Boris Mizaikoff faculty page"},{"url":"http:\/\/asl.chemistry.gatech.edu\/","title":"Applied Sensors Laboratory"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=jt7\u0022\u003EContact John Toon\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-6986\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}