Wang Lab

We investigate ways of improving detection and treatment of esophageal and colon cancer through the combined development of specialized endoscopes along with peptide-based detection agents. Potential targets on the esophageal or colon cancer tissue or cell lines are investigated using techniques including DNA and protein gels, Western blots, and various pull-down techniques. Peptide sequences are developed through phage-display binding studies. Binding of phage is validated using fluorescence or confocal microscopy. Fluorescently-labeled peptides are synthesized using a peptide synthesizer and purified by HPLC. Promising peptides are evaluated in in vivo studies on mice using specialized endoscopes developed in our lab. We employ centrifuges, vortexers, hot plates, sonicators along with some specialized equipment like peptide synthesizer and HPLC.