Small Molecule Receptor Detects Lipid's Telltale Sign of Cell Death

Efficient, economical molecule could speed evaluation of some anti-cancer treatmentsCHESTNUT HILL, MA (9/13/2011) – Researchers from Boston College have developed a new class of small molecule receptors capable of detecting a lipid molecule that reveals the telltale signs of cellular death, particularly cancer cells targeted by anti-cancer drugs, the team reports in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Researchers led by Assistant Professor of Chemistry Jianmin Gao successfully grafted the key residues of the milk protein lactadherin onto the molecular scaffolding of a short but