A novel DNA selection and direct extraction process and its application in DNA recombination

Wang

et al. 2016

IJMS

119

Human gastric cancer (GC) is characterized by a high incidence and mortality rate, largely because it is normally not identified until a relatively advanced stage owing to a lack of early diagnostic biomarkers. Gastroscopy with biopsy is the routine method for screening, and gastrectomy is the major therapeutic strategy for GC. However, in more than 30% of GC surgical patients, cancer has progressed too far for effective medical resection. Thus, useful biomarkers for early screening or detection of GC are essential for improving patients’ survival rate. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in tumorigenesis. They contribute to gastric carcinogenesis by altering the expression of oncogenes and tumor suppressors. Because of their stability in tissues, serum/plasma and other body fluids, miRNAs have been suggested as novel tumor biomarkers with suitable clinical potential. Recently, aberrantly expressed miRNAs have been identified and tested for clinical application in the management of GC. Aberrant miRNA expression profiles determined with miRNA microarrays, quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and next-generation sequencing approaches could be used to establish sample specificity and to identify tumor type. Here, we provide an up-to-date summary of tissue-based GC-associated miRNAs, describing their involvement and that of their downstream targets in tumorigenic and biological processes. We examine correlations among significant clinical parameters and prognostic indicators, and discuss recurrence monitoring and therapeutic options in GC. We also review plasma/serum-based, GC-associated, circulating miRNAs and their clinical applications, focusing especially on early diagnosis. By providing insights into the mechanisms of miRNA-related tumor progression, this review will hopefully aid in the identification of novel potential therapeutic targets.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Diagnostic, Prognostic and Therapeutic Targets of MicroRNAs in Human Gastric Cancer

Wang

et al. 2016

IJMS

119

Synthetic and Systems Biotechnology

“…Fortunately, microfluidics overcome these defects by reducing processing time, reagents consumption (100-fold), DNA loss, and by offering facile control over multiple flows simultaneously. For example, microfluidic chips with different functional components have been designed to integrate DNA digestion and ligation into a single run [17] . Digital microfluidic devices imbedded with electrodes have achieved even higher precision and reproducibility [18] .…”

Section: Microfluidics Facilitates Strain Buildingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The application of microfluidic-based technologies in the cycle of metabolic engineering

Huo

2016

The process of metabolic engineering consists of multiple cycles of design, build, test and learn, which is typically laborious and time-consuming. To increase the efficiency and the rate of success of strain engineering, novel instrumentation must be applied. Microfluidics, the control of liquid flow in microstructures, has enabled flexible, accurate, automatic, and high-throughput manipulation of cells in liquid at picoliter to nanoliter scale. These attributes hold great promise in advancing metabolic engineering in terms of the phases of design, build, test and learn. To promote the application of microfluidic-based technologies in strain improvement, this review addressed the potentials of microfluidics and the related approaches in DNA assembly, transformation, strain screening, genotyping and phenotyping, and highlighted their adaptations for single-cell analysis. As a result, this facilitates in-depth understanding of the metabolic network, which in turn promote efficient optimization in the following cycles of strain engineering. Taken together, microfluidic-based technologies enable on-chip workflow, and could greatly accelerate the turnaround of metabolic engineering.

“…Like the uranyl ion, nucleic acids exhibit low quantum yields, and only very small sample sizes are frequently available . DNA quantitation has been accomplished in the literature by a variety of methods including UV absorbance spectroscopy and spectrofluorimetry. − There has also been recent progress using microfluidic chips in nucleic acid research as all-in-one platforms for processes such as ligation and digestion. − Denaturation and reassociation are important physiochemical processes of DNA, the study of which can provide valuable insight into not only the growth of cells and viruses but also the taxonomic and evolutionary relationships between organisms . Reassociation of DNA was first measured by binding small fragments of labeled DNA to long strands immobilized in an agar-based supporting medium, a method later replaced with the use of a hypoxypatite column, on which double-stranded DNA is retained but single-stranded DNA is not. , However, both of these methods are time- and labor-intensive, and while work has been done in an effort to reduce these time constraints, such as using size-selective capillary electrophoresis to separate double-stranded DNA samples, to our knowledge a high-throughput method such as presented here has not been developed for the purpose of reassociation evaluation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface Modification of Silicon Pillar Arrays To Enhance Fluorescence Detection of Uranium and DNA

et al. 2017

There is an ever-growing need for detection methods that are both sensitive and efficient, such that reagent and sample consumption is minimized. Nanopillar arrays offer an attractive option to fill this need by virtue of their small scale in conjunction with their field enhancement intensity gains. This work investigates the use of nanopillar substrates for the detection of the uranyl ion and DNA, two analytes unalike but for their low quantum efficiencies combined with the need for high-throughput analyses. Herein, the adaptability of these platforms was explored, as methods for the successful surface immobilization of both analytes were developed and compared, resulting in a limit of detection for the uranyl ion of less than 1 ppm with a 0.2 μL sample volume. Moreover, differentiation between single-stranded and double-stranded DNA was possible, including qualitative identification between double-stranded DNA and DNA of the same sequence, but with a 10-base-pair mismatch.