A research team led by Professor Dong-Eun Kim of the Department of Integrative Bioscience and Biotechnology developed a new technology for DNA amplification using polyethylene glycol-engrafted nano-sized graphene oxide (PEG-nGO). The study was published in Materials Science by the American Chemical Society in an article titled “Facilitation of Polymerase Chain Reaction with Poly(ethylene glycol)-Engrafted Graphene Oxide Analogous to a Single-Stranded-DNA Binding Protein.” Master’s student Hyo Ryoung Kim and PhD student Ahreum Baek, who are scholarship recipients of the BK21 Plus Program, participated in the research which was supported by a grant by the National Research Foundation of Korea.
“The research has made a significant contribution to increasing the efficiency of polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a DNA amplification method that has been used widely for the past three decades,” said Professor Kim. “We applied for a patent to commercialize the technology and our next goal is to maximize the added value of the research through a PCR kit and transferring the technology.”