Since the beginning of time, living organisms have developed
ingenious mechanisms to monitor their environment. As part of an international
study, a team of researchers has adapted some of these natural mechanisms to
detect specific molecules such as cocaine more accurately and quickly. Their
work may greatly facilitate the rapid screening—less than five minutes—of many
drugs, infectious diseases, and cancers.
Professor Alexis Vallée-Bélisle of the University of
Montreal Department of Chemistry has worked with Professor Francesco Ricci of
the University of Rome Tor Vergata and Professor Kevin W. Plaxco of the
University of California at Santa Barbara to improve a new biosensing
nanotechnology. The results of the study were recently published in the Journal
of American Chemical Society (JACS).