The discovery of methods for accurate and reliable molecular measurements represents a cornerstone for progress in molecular biology and medicine. We are meeting the challenge of characterizing macromolecules and their modes of action, interactions and chemical modification by developing a set of molecular tools, including padlock probes and proximity probes for nucleic acid and protein analyses, respectively. We apply these methods in a wide range of biomedical analyses with a focus on tumor biology, neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease, autoimmunity and infectious medicine.
Large sets of molecules can be analysed
The probes we use typically include elements with affinity for specific nucleic acid or protein molecules, along with unique identifier DNA sequence elements that serve as a code for the recognized target molecules. The information content of the DNA strands that form in detection reactions is recorded after amplification by PCR or by rolling circle amplification to identify the recognized target molecules. These procedures permit highly specific solution-phase or localized analyses of large sets of target molecules, extending even to the single-copy level, as is increasingly required to evaluate the molecular heterogeneity in cells and tissues.
