Development of a nanoprobe for measuring the molecular dynamics in living cells

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project Area: Molecular Science for Nanomedicine
• Project/Area Number: 23107006
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Research in a proposed research area)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Review Section: Science and Engineering
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: Miyake Jun 大阪大学, 基礎工学研究科, 教授 (70344174)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): KIHARA Takanori 北九州市立大学, 国際環境工学部, 准教授 (90436535) ; NIIOKA Hirohiko 大阪大学, 大学院基礎工学研究科, 助教 (70552074)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 分子クラウディング / AFM / mRNA / 細胞骨格 / 高空有間分解能イメージング / 深層学習

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In living cells, there are many huge filamentous structures, organelles, protein complexes, and nucleic acids. The complex intracellular environment rises from awful molecular crowding conditions in the cytosol. To learn the dynamic molecular reactions in living cells, it is essential to clarify their physicochemical structure and features like disproportional macromolecular crowding structures, molecular diffusion, and excluded volume effect. In this project, we have aimed to analyze the macromolecular dynamics, simulate physical structures.
To analyze the dynamics of mRNA in living cells, we have to develop an mRNA detection system with nM sensitivity in molecular crowding conditions. We modified the nanoneedle with molecular beacon, which is a highly sensitive nuclear acid probe. The developed nanoprobe could detect as small as 1 nM RNA in solution. By using the nanoprobe for GAPDH or beta-actin, we succeeded in selective detection of the mRNA inside the cells.

Free Research Field

分子生物学