The researchers used
hundreds of such molecules, combining them in various ways to create a library of 35 million different «fish hooks.»
Using an innovative screen approach that graduate student Shahram Jevin Poureetezadi designed, the team exposed zebrafish embryos to small molecules, prostaglandin E2, from a chemical
library of such molecules known to be active in cell development generally.
For example, their surface is covered by glycoconjugates that are essential for their survival and infectivity, but little is known of the processes that lead to the
synthesis of such molecules.
Half the prize goes jointly to John Fenn of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond and Koichi Tanaka of Shimadzu Corp. in Kyoto, Japan, who developed techniques to help determine the
masses of such molecules.
Thus, by an engineered
pattern of such molecules on a surface of e.g. a biodegradable implant endothelial cells or others can be guided to the place of its proper action.