PME Special Seminar - Prof. Nako Nakatsuka

DNA Aptamer-Based Biosensors for Small-Molecule Detection

Advancing our understanding of brain (dys)function necessitates novel nanotools that can monitor chemical signaling, which is challenging due to the complexity of biological environments where neurochemicals co-exist with structurally similar molecules in a sea of nonspecific interferents. At the Laboratory of Chemical Nanotechnology (CHEMINA), we tackle this challenge by integrating DNA-based recognition elements termed aptamers into nanoscale biosensing platforms. Aptamers are systematically designed oligonucleotide receptors with high specificity and selectivity for neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine. We have developed aptamer-modified nanopipettes with ~10 nm openings that approach the spatial resolution of synapses where neurons communicate (~50 nm). Upon reversible target binding, aptamers structure switch, rearranging their negatively charged backbone; these dynamic structural changes are transduced as changes in electrical current through the nanopore. Extensive characterization of aptamer conformational dynamics has led to a mechanistic understanding of our biosensors, enabling generalization of our strategy to hypothetically, any small-molecule analyte.

BIOGRAPHY

Prof. Nako Nakatsuka heads the Laboratory of Chemical Nanotechnology (CHEMINA) at the Neuro-X Institute at EPFL since January 2024. She was raised in Tokyo, Japan and moved to the U.S.A. for her bachelor’s in chemistry at Fordham University (Bronx, NY) and pursued her Ph.D. at UCLA (Los Angeles, CA). Upon receiving the ETH Zürich postdoctoral fellowship, she moved to Switzerland and remained a senior scientist at the Laboratory of Biosensors and Bioelectronics. For her work, she was named an MIT Under 35 Pioneer (2021), received the iCanX Young Scientist award (2022), the ACS Nano Lectureship Award and Prix Zonta (2023), as well as the ACS Measurement Science Rising Star Award (2024). Prof. Nakatsuka has also illustrated a children’s chemistry book: “A is for Atom: ABCs for Aspiring Chemists” to inpire the next generation of chemists.

ALL UNDERGRADS ARE WELCOME