title: Metal recognition by in-vitro selection.
abstract: We propose an in vitro selection strategy to identify bacteriophage variants that recognize metal ions in solution. In 6 M urea, phage T7 loses 99.9% of its activity in less than 5 min. Inactivation is accelerated by gold, but slowed by zinc and magnesium. Selection of phage over five generations in the presence of gold, zinc, and magnesium increases phage half-lives 4-, 10-, and 70-fold, respectively. As selections are repeated, phage become increasingly dependent on the specific metal employed in the selection, indicating the suitability of the strategy for optimization of metal-ion recognition.
authors.affiliation: Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755-8000, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yin