May-01-15
Researchers have created a “mutant” enzyme that could allow any blood type to be used for transfusions, regardless of the patient’s own blood type.
Currently, only the O blood type can be given to anyone, because it does not have any A or B antigens. Scientists have been using enzymes to “clip” the antigens, but enzymes were not very effective, requiring a very large amount to be effective.
As an alternative, researchers from the University of British Columbia and the Centre for Blood Research have created an enzyme idealized for clipping the antigens. Using “directed evolution,” the team injected mutations into the gene responsible for coding for the enzyme, and then selected the more effective mutants. The enzyme became 170 times more effective after just five generations.
More Info about this Invention:
[
ACS.ORG]
[
NEWS.UBC.CA]
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