Thanks to Iowa State researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy Ames Laboratory, a new way of studying cancer-causing agents in cellular DNA has been developed.

By combining ideas, scientists Ryszard Jankowiak and Gerald Small have been able to study cellular DNA in even greater detail.

Small said he began working on the study about three years ago, and that joining forces with Jankowiak has greatly benefited his research.

“I think it’s a step forward in cancer research, and the technique is very general,” he said. “It can be applied to a wide range of biological problems. It can be used in forensics science and a lot of different areas where people have to look for minute qualities in compounds.”

According to a press release, the scientists’ cancer research produced a technique called fluorescence line-narrowing spectroscopy (FLNS), which was invented at ISU, and capillary electrophoresis (CE).

FLNS is a process that freezes and illuminates individual spectra from molecules. After that process is complete, CE is used to identify different compounds from the spectra.

Before FLNS and CE could be combined, a cooling device called a cryostat was developed. The cryostat cools compounds to -450øF, the temperature required for FLNS research, in less than a minute.

Jankowiak and Small already have identified many DNA adducts, such as byproducts in urine and cancer-causing pollutants from cigarette smoke, by using their method. This identification is important to help understand how the pollutant chemically attacks the DNA.

“The first important event in the production of cancer is the damage of DNA by chemical pollutants,” Small said. “Our new technique provides superior analytical resolution for determining the nature of the damage, which leads to mutations that result in cancer cells.”

Small, who has been conducting scientific research for 30 years, said this project has been somewhat difficult, but gratifying. He added that a patent on their technique is pending.

“It’s really exciting stuff,” he said. “Some projects [succeed], and some don’t. This is one idea that worked.”