Detecting miniscule amounts of biomolecules can be quite complex, but a new technique offers a versatile and cost-effective way to identify diseases.
Diagnosing diseases usually requires analysing nanosized bioparticles such as DNA, proteins and viruses in biological samples with advanced optical technologies. Studies with fluorescence microscopy and spectrophotometry can actually take some time and be quite costly.
Led by researchers from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, an international team of scientists have developed a microfluidic chip that, when used with standard laboratory microscopes, can detect proteins down to parts-per-billion levels.
According to the study in Nature Communications, the chip can measure biomolecules from the changes in surface forces and size of sideway movements of a microbead substrate arranged in pillar arrays. It can also detect nano-biomolecules in real time, significantly faster than detection based on fluorescent labels.
The device could be used in medical diagnostic care for patients.
Reference:
Nature Communications 9, 815 (2018). doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-03156-5
Alayna Hansen 