A group of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory have developed a method called dynamic multiple equilibrium gradients, DMEG for short, that uses ultra-fine glass tubes known as capillaries to analyze the chemical makeup of substances.

The advance makes it possible to detect the smallest traces of substances, such as the estrogen-derived conjugates and DNA adducts in human fluid samples that could serve as biomarkers in risk assessment of breast and prostate cancers.

In fact, this and other technologies being developed at the Ames Laboratory – biosensors and fluorescence-based imaging – have been used in work with cancer researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Johns Hopkins University to identify a specific adduct in the urine of prostate and breast cancer patients, and could lead to even earlier detection or indication of cancer risk.

SOURCE:
U.S. Department of Energy Ames Laboratory (http://www.ameslab.gov)