Nano detector fingers pathogens
ensure food safety, say the project's team of European researchers.
Biofinger, which is being funded by the EU, could be used as a cheap and fast method in the diagnosis of diseases such as cancer. It couldalso be used for chemical and food analysis, said Biofinger's project coordinator, Joan Bausells.
The new system, now in final development stages, is scheduled to begin field testing later this summer. The detector would help food processors in their battle to maintain the safety of theirproducts. Consumer demand and an increased focus on food safety through regulator oversight and regulations is a driving trend in the market.
The Biofinger project is being funded by the European Commission's Information Society Technology centre. Nanotechnology enables scientists to alter the structure of materials on a molecular scale.
The machine detects and analyses molecules in fluids using nano and micro cantilevers. In the medical world it is a way to rapidly and accurately diagnose disease. When coated with antibodies thecantilevers bend and resonate to changes in surface tension and mass when fluids containing disease-related protein molecules attach to them.
By seeing whether or not the cantilevers react, doctors would be able to determine whether or not a disease is present, Bausells stated in an announcement about Biofinger. Though much of the team'sresearch has been carried out into cantilevers, it has focused principally on creating large-scale tools for use inside laboratories.
"You can't carry those around with you, so what we are developing is the first portable device that will allow doctors to diagnose diseases on the spot almost immediately," Bausells stated.
During trials at Cork University Hospital in Ireland this summer, the microcantilever version of the system will be used to detect a protein associated with prostate cancer, while thenanocantilever system, which can detect a single molecule, will be used to test blood samples for interleukin 6, a protein associated with inflammation.
BioFinger incorporates the cantilevers on a disposable microchip, allowing it to be reconfigured with new on-chip cantilevers to detect different substances. The analysis, which can be performedanywhere, anytime, takes between 15 and 20 minutes, "considerably less than the hours or days" it takes to analyse a blood sample using traditional in-lab methods, Bausells claims.
The system is likely to be considerably cheaper than traditional diagnosis techniques with each disposable chip expected to cost about eight euros.
"It is also extremely versatile," Bausells stated. "It could be used to detect virtually any disease, as a pregnancy test or even to determine blood types. Outside of the medicalfield, it could be used to analyse chemicals, detect bacteria in food or test for water pollution."
The researchers are due to begin testing the detector over the summer and expect to have it ready for sale on the market within two to three years.
