London, May 28 (ANI): Researchers have developed a super-sensitive test that should enable them to detect signs of a disease in its budding stages.
The scientists, from Imperial College London and the University of Vigo, have created a test that has been designed to detect particular molecules, which indicate the presence of disease, even when these are in very low concentrations.
Even though there are tests available for some diseases that look for such biomarkers using biological sensors or 'biosensors', existing biosensors become less sensitive and predictable at detecting biomarkers when they are in very low concentrations, as occurs when a disease is in its early stages.
In their study, the researchers demonstrated that the new biosensor test can find a biomarker associated with prostate cancer, called Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA).
However, the scientists say that the biosensor can be easily reconfigured to test for other diseases or viruses where the related biomarker is known.
"It is vital to detect diseases at an early stage if we want people to have the best possible outcomes - diseases are usually easier to treat at this stage, and early diagnosis can give us the chance to halt a disease before symptoms worsen. However, for many diseases, using current technology to look for early signs of disease can be like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. Our new test can actually find that needle. We only looked at the biomarker for one disease in this study, but we're confident that the test can be adapted to identify many other diseases at an early stage," said Professor Molly Stevens, senior author of the study from the Departments of Materials and Bioengineering at Imperial College London.
The team exhibited the effectiveness of their biosensor by testing PSA biomarker samples in solutions containing a complex mixture of blood derived serum proteins.
Monitoring the levels of PSA at very low concentrations can be crucial in the early diagnosis of the reoccurrence of prostate cancer, but classic detection approaches are not sensitive enough to carry out this analysis with a high degree of accuracy.
The new test could give more reliable diagnosis, but more research will need to be done to further explore its potential.
In their research, the team detected PSA at 0.000000000000000001 grams per milliliter, which is at the limits of current biosensor performance.
On comparison, an existing test called an 'Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay' (ELISA) test can detect PSA at 0.000000001 grams per milliliter, which is nine orders of magnitude more concentrated.
The biosensors used in the study include nanoscopic-sized gold stars floating in a solution containing other blood derived proteins.
Antibodies attached to the surface of these gold stars latch onto PSA when they detect it in a sample.
A secondary antibody, which has an enzyme called glucose oxidase attached to it, recognizes the PSA and creates a distinct silver crystal coating on the gold stars, which is more apparent when the PSA biomarkers are in low concentrations.
This silver coating acts like an indicator that PSA is present, and it can be easily detected by scientists using optical microscopes.
In the next stage of the research, the team carrying out further clinical testing to assess the efficacy of the biosensor in detecting a range of different biomarkers associated with conditions such as HIV and other infections.
They will also explore the ways of making the product available for the commercial purpose.
This study has been published in the journal Nature Materials. (ANI)
|
|
Comments:
