"Recreating complex biochemical mechanisms using DNA switches: from fundamentals to applications in bio-nanotechnology" Dr. Alexis Vallee-Belisle (Universite de Montreal)
Nature has evolved countless finely regulated biomolecules and nanomachines that display amazingly complex and efficient mechanisms. In my talk, I will describe how we are gaining a better understanding of those sophisticated mechanisms by recreating them in vitro, using simple DNA switches. Inspired by this exercise, we are now developing various bio-inspired nano-devices that respond to specific chemical or environmental changes that prove of utility for several applications in the fields of in vivo imaging, clinical diagnostics, and drug-delivery. In my talk, I will describe how we develop and optimise programmable structure-switching DNA devices that use fluorescent or electrochemical readouts to measure temperature, pH, or molecules, from small-sized drugs to larger transcription factors and antibodies present in cellular extract or whole blood samples.