Assessment of ion-selective optical nanosensors for drug screening applications

Ion channels represent an important category of drug targets. They play a significant role in numerous physiological functions, from membrane excitation and signaling to fluid absorption and secretion. An ion-channel assay system using optical nanosensors has recently been developed. This high-throughput, high-content system improves on the existing patch clamp and fluorescent dye technologies that presently dominate the ion-channel screening market. This paper introduces the nanosensor technology, reviews the current market for ion-channel assays, assesses the costs associated with the nanosensors, and evaluates their commercialization potential.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Yun, Hannah

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Heather A. Clark.

• Materials Science and Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/42129

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/42129