Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Space Industry and Business News .




TECH SPACE
Cancer research yields unexpected new way to produce nylon
by Staff Writers
Durham NC (SPX) Sep 25, 2012


The research demonstrates how an investment in medical research can be applied broadly to solve other significant issues of the day.

In their quest for a cancer cure, researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute made a serendipitous discovery - a molecule necessary for cheaper and greener ways to produce nylon.

The finding, described in the Sept. 23, 2012, issue of the journal Nature Chemical Biology, arose from an intriguing notion that some of the genetic and chemical changes in cancer tumors might be harnessed for beneficial uses.

"In our lab, we study genetic changes that cause healthy tissues to go bad and grow into tumors. The goal of this research is to understand how the tumors develop in order to design better treatments," said Zachary J. Reitman, Ph.D., an associate in research at Duke and lead author of the study. "As it turns out, a bit of information we learned in that process paves the way for a better method to produce nylon."

Nylon is a ubiquitous material, used in carpeting, upholstery, auto parts, apparel and other products. A key component for its production is adipic acid, which is one of the most widely used chemicals in the world. Currently, adipic acid is produced from fossil fuel, and the pollution released from the refinement process is a leading contributor to global warming.

Reitman said he and colleagues delved into the adipic acid problem based on similarities between cancer research techniques and biochemical engineering. Both fields rely on enzymes, which are molecules that convert one small chemical to another. Enzymes play a major role in both healthy tissues and in tumors, but they are also used to convert organic matter into synthetic materials such as adipic acid.

One of the most promising approaches being studied today for environmentally friendly adipic acid production uses a series of enzymes as an assembly line to convert cheap sugars into adipic acid. However, one critical enzyme in the series, called a 2-hydroxyadipate dehydrogenase, has never been produced, leaving a missing link in the assembly line.

This is where the cancer research comes in. In 2008 and 2009, Duke researchers, including Hai Yan, M.D., PhD., identified a genetic mutation in glioblastomas and other brain tumors that alters the function of an enzyme known as an isocitrate dehydrogenase.

Reitman and colleagues had a hunch that the genetic mutation seen in cancer might trigger a similar functional change to a closely related enzyme found in yeast and bacteria (homoisocitrate dehydrogenase), which would create the elusive 2-hydroxyadipate dehydrogenase necessary for "green" adipic acid production.

They were right. The functional mutation observed in cancer could be constructively applied to other closely related enzymes, creating a beneficial outcome - in this case Duke University Medical Center
that could enable adipic acid production from cheap sugars. The next step will be to scale up the overall adipic acid production process, which remains a considerable undertaking.

"It's exciting that sequencing cancer genomes can help us to discover new enzyme activities," Reitman said. "Even genetic changes that occur in only a few patients could reveal useful new enzyme functions that were not obvious before."

Yan, a professor in the Department of Pathology and senior author of the study, said the research demonstrates how an investment in medical research can be applied broadly to solve other significant issues of the day.

"This is the result of a cancer researcher thinking outside the box to produce a new enzyme and create a precursor for nylon production," Yan said. "Not only is this discovery exciting, it reaffirms the commitment we should be making to science and to encouraging young people to pursue science."

In addition to Reitman and Yan, study authors include Bryan D. Choi, Ivan Spasojevic, Darell D. Bigner and John H. Sampson. The work was supported with funds from the National Institutes of Health (R01 CA1403160). The authors are listed on a patent that is pending related to the mutated enzymes.

.


Related Links
Duke University Medical Center
Space Technology News - Applications and Research






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








TECH SPACE
Glass half full: Double-strength glass may be within reach
Houston TX (SPX) Sep 25, 2012
Glass is strong enough for so much: windshields, buildings and many other things that need to handle high stress without breaking. But scientists who look at the structure of glass strictly by the numbers believe some of the latest methods from the microelectronics and nanotechnology industry could produce glass that's about twice as strong as the best available today. Rice University chem ... read more


TECH SPACE
Cancer research yields unexpected new way to produce nylon

Yale Researchers Call for Specialty Metals Recycling

Drink, flirt, stumble home: there's a beer fest app for that

Researchers Demonstrate Cheaper Way To Produce NFO Thin Films

TECH SPACE
Hughes Awarded Custom SATCOM Solutions Contract by GSA

4 SOPS begins testing newest AEHF satellite

SES Government Solutions Awarded Custom Satellite Solutions Contract in the US

Boeing Chosen for US Government's COMSATCOM Services Acquisition Program

TECH SPACE
California Governor Signs the Spaceflight Liability and Immunity Act

Processing is underway with the next Automated Transfer Vehicle to be orbited by Arianespace

Fueling underway with the Galileo satellites for next Soyuz launch from French Guiana

SpaceX, NASA Target Oct. 7 Launch For Resupply Mission To Space Station

TECH SPACE
Northrop Grumman to Improve Performance of MEMS Inertial Sensors for DARPA

Lockheed Martin Delivers Propulsion Core for the First GPS III Satellite

China launches another 2 navigation system satellites

Improved positioning indoors

TECH SPACE
Argentina, Venezuela to build trainer jet

Boeing Awards CH-147F In-Service Support Contract to GD Canada

Brazil could delay jet decision until 2013

Iraq province scraps Bahrain carrier ban

TECH SPACE
Japan Inc. comes together to save Renesas: report

Optical Waveguide Connects Semiconductor Chips

Single-atom writer a landmark for quantum computing

Supercomputer breakthrough for Australian team

TECH SPACE
Knight Foundation invests to accelerate data projects

First Images from SPOT 6 Satellite

Apple fans complain of missing landmarks in new map system

Pioneering UK project to improve land carbon intelligence accuracy and reliability

TECH SPACE
Solving the stink from sewers

Measuring mercury levels: Nano-velcro detects water-borne toxic metals

Indonesian lives risked on 'world's most polluted' river

Oil spill ship's officers deported from New Zealand




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement