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Biotechnology at NISTBiotechnology Information Center (biotech@nalusda.gov) National Agricultural Library/USDA, 1994Two National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) programs offer unique resources and cost-shared grants to help U.S. biotechnology firms stay ahead in the global marketplace. The NIST laboratory research program provides new measurement techniques, standards, predictive models, and reference data. The Advanced Technology Program provides grants to develop high-risk, high-pay-off technologies. The ATP recently announced "Tools for DNA Diagnostics" - a five-year, $145 million program to develop compact, low-cost, automated DNA analysis technologies and equipment to enable fast, inexpensive detection and diagnosis of human, animal and plant diseases. Since 1991, ATP grants have provided nearly $27.5 million for projects in nine biotechnology firms and consortia. The NIST Biotechnology Division focuses its efforts in four areas:
Bioprocess EngineeringNIST scientists are working to develop reliable biosensors by devising ways to measure accurately quantities of cells, enzymes, proteins, and products inside a bioreactor without removing samples from the reactor. The industry currently monitors reactions inside bioreactors by sampling and analyzing small amounts of the biotech broth in the reactor. Unfortunately, the samples can become contaminated, analysis takes a long time, and results are hard to reproduce. A promising alternative being investigated at NIST uses a fiber optic strand inside a reactor for quick and accurate measurements of cells, proteins, and products. Knowing the exact quantities of these ingredients and being able to measure how they fluctuate during production will help the biotechnology industry design the most efficient reactors and processes possible.
Protein EngineeringIn 1984, NIST, the University of Maryland, and Montgomery County, MD, established the Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology, or CARB. Scientists at the center are solving the complete three-dimensional structures of many industrially important proteins. They also are probing how changes in structure alter protein function. Pharmaceutical companies can use CARB's research results in developing new drugs. Likewise, the food industry can enhance its products based on protein structures solved at CARB. Among CARB's accomplishments are solving the structures of chymosin, the primary enzyme in cheese production; of interleukin 1 beta, an immune system cytokine with anti-cancer potential; and of enzyme IIA, a protein bacteria need to ingest sugar.
Standards DevelopmentIn the standards development area, NIST researchers are, for example, developing a Standard Reference Material (SRM) for DNA profiling. DNA profiles, or fingerprints, can be used to match a suspect to evidence at a crime scene, to establish paternity, to verify ownership of prized livestock, or as DNA dog tags for soldiers. The law enforcement community has identified a need for standards in DNA analysis and expects NIST's new SRM to have a big impact on courts' acceptance of DNA evidence. Currently, more than two dozen federal and state crime labs, as well as a few commercial firms, perform DNA profiling analysis. The NIST SRM will help these labs verify the accuracy of their analyses.
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