Luminos, LLC And University of Michigan Patent New Demethylase Assay Technology

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Two scientists at Luminos, LLC (www.LuminosAssays.com) and Professor Ray Trievel from the Department of Biological Chemistry at the University of Michigan (http://www.chembio.umich.edu/people/trievel.html) filed a US patent application that relates to a new, novel method to detect demethylase enzyme activity. Demethylase enzymes remove methyl groups attached to DNA, proteins and toxins and have become areas of intense interest. The two known classes of demethylase enzymes use different mechanisms to demethylate their targets produce formaldehyde as the product of the reaction. Classical methods for detecting formaldehyde generation involve the use of radioactive substrates for the demethylases. The new technology allows demethylase activity to be determined by the addition of a single reagent that produces a fluorescent signal in direct proportion to the amount of formaldehyde produced. Kits based on the technology will be available by the spring of 2009.

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