Hanyang University · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Professor Moon-Young Yoon's research lab specializes in the development of ultrasensitive and rapid biosensing platforms for medical and biodefense applications. The lab focuses on designing novel probes—such as aptamers, peptide-based polymers, and engineered proteins—targeting key biomarkers like anthrax protective antigen and amyloid-beta 42 for early diagnosis of infectious diseases and neurodegenerative disorders. By integrating nanomaterials (e.g., graphene FETs) with advanced signal transduction strategies, the lab advances point-of-care diagnostics with attomolar sensitivity and high specificity. Their work bridges synthetic biology, bioanalytical chemistry, and nanotechnology to address challenges in drug metabolism and biomarker detection.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS) is a thiamin diphosphate- (ThDP-) and FAD-dependent enzyme that catalyzes the first common step in the biosynthetic pathway of the branched-amino acids such as leucine, isoleucine, and valine. The genes of AHAS from Mycobacterium tuberculosis were cloned, and overexpressed in E. coli and purified to homogeneity. The purified AHAS from M. tuberculosis is effectively inhibited by pyrazosulfuron ethyl (PSE), an inhibitor of plant AHAS enzyme, with the IC(50) (inhibi
Detection of the anthrax toxin, the protective antigen (PA), at the attomolar (aM) level is demonstrated by an electrical aptamer sensor based on a chemically derived graphene field-effect transistor (FET) platform. Higher affinity of the aptamer probes to PA in the aptamer-immobilized FET enables significant improvements in the limit of detection (LOD), dynamic range, and sensitivity compared to the antibody-immobilized FET. Transduction signal enhancement in the aptamer FET due to an increase
Amyloid-beta 42 (Aβ<sub>42</sub>), the key biomarker of Alzheimer's disease (AD), aggregates to form neurotoxic amyloid plaques. In this work, we modified two fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled Aβ<sub>42</sub>-targeting peptides and designed an Aβ<sub>42</sub>-specific ultrasensitive polyvalent-directed peptide polymer (PDPP) to enhance AD diagnosis sensitivity. The dissociation constant of Aβ<sub>42</sub> by PDPP was 10<sup>3</sup>-fold higher than the single-site-directed peptide. The improved
The protective antigen (PA) of Bacillus anthracis is a secreted protein that functions as a critical virulence factor. Protective antigen has been selected as a biomarker in detecting bacterial infection. The in vitro selection method, systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX), was used to find single-stranded DNAs that were tightly bound to PA. After 8 rounds of the SELEX process with PA, 4 different oligonucleotides (referred to as aptamers) that contain a 30-residue ss
Here, we review the cumulative efforts to develop rapid and ultrasensitive diagnostic systems, especially for the infectious agent, Bacillus anthracis, as a model system. This Minireview focuses on demonstrating the features of various probes for target molecule detection and recent methods of signal generation within the biosensors. Also, we discuss the possibility of using peptides as next-generation probe molecules.
Cytochrome P450-dependent drug metabolism in vitro frequently deviates from simple Michaelis-Menten kinetic models, and demonstrates both positive and negative homotropic and heterotropic effects. These complex "allsoteric" kinetics confound our ability to predict drug clearance, and they may provide a basis for drug-drug interactions. Although allosteric effects require that multiple substrates, or substrate and effector, are simultaneously bound to a cytochrome P450 (CYP), the mechanisms by wh
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) threaten many kinds of life throughout the world. These compounds function the same as sexual hormones, inducing precocious puberty, gynecomastia, etc., in the human body. To prevent excess exposure to nonylphenol (NP), a simple and rapid detection system is needed. In this study, we develop a nonylphenol-specific aptamer from a random single-stranded DNA library and test a rapid sensor system based on the aptamer and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The aptamer
A flexible poly-D-lysine polymer conjugated with different target-binding peptides is demonstrated with an ultralow concentration detection limit compared to those of other conventional detection systems. This polyvalent directed peptide polymer (PDPP) exhibits increased binding affinity and detects anthrax protective antigen at low levels using a well-known zinc oxide nanorod detection system.
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