Home > Press > Nanoscale Holes Provide Speed Boost for Diagnostic Tests
Abstract:
Microfluidic devices, essentially miniaturized chemical laboratories etched into material similar to a microprocessor chip, are revolutionizing diagnostic medicine by providing a technology platform that is more sensitive and less expensive than conventional analytical technologies. A new sensing method that relies on nanoscale holes drilled into a microfluidic device also could add "faster" to the list of benefits afforded by microfluidics.
Reporting their work in the journal Analytical Chemistry, researchers at the University of British Columbia created a grid of 30 x 30 flow-through nanoscale holes to create a highly responsive sensor system that can detect biomolecules of interest without requiring the additional use of an optical label. They used a tightly focused laser to drill holes through a 100-nanometer-thick layer of gold deposited on a 100-nanometer-thick slab of silicon nitride. The resulting sensor array then was integrated into a microfluidic chip made of poly(dimethylsiloxane), a standard material used to make lab-on-a-chip devices for biomedical applications.
With the array in hand, the investigators then attached a monoclonal antibody to the gold lining inside the holes. This monoclonal antibody binds to a cancer biomarker protein known as PAX8. The researchers then took advantage of an optical phenomenon known as surface plasmon resonance (SPR), which takes place on thin films of gold. When irradiated with laser light, thin gold films will emit a sharp, bright burst of light whose wavelength changes as various molecules stick to the gold surface. In this case, the SPR signal changed whenever PAX8 bound to the antibody attached to the gold film lining the array holes. When compared with established SPR-based measurement techniques, the flow-through device had a response time that was sixfold faster while measuring PAX8 present at concentrations in the attomolar range.
####
About National Cancer Institute
To help meet the goal of reducing the burden of cancer, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, is engaged in efforts to harness the power of nanotechnology to radically change the way we diagnose, treat and prevent cancer.
The NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer is a comprehensive, systematized initiative encompassing the public and private sectors, designed to accelerate the application of the best capabilities of nanotechnology to cancer.
Currently, scientists are limited in their ability to turn promising molecular discoveries into benefits for cancer patients. Nanotechnology can provide the technical power and tools that will enable those developing new diagnostics, therapeutics, and preventives to keep pace with today’s explosion in knowledge.
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
National Cancer Institute
Office of Technology & Industrial Relations
ATTN: NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer
Building 31, Room 10A49
31 Center Drive , MSC 2580
Bethesda , MD 20892-2580
Copyright © National Cancer Institute
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related Links |
View abstract - “Nanoholes as nanochannels: flow-through plasmonic sensing.”
Related News Press |
News and information
Simulating magnetization in a Heisenberg quantum spin chain April 5th, 2024
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Microfluidics/Nanofluidics
Implantable device shrinks pancreatic tumors: Taming pancreatic cancer with intratumoral immunotherapy April 14th, 2023
Researchers design new inks for 3D-printable wearable bioelectronics: Potential uses include printing electronic tattoos for medical tracking applications August 19th, 2022
Oregon State University research pushes closer to new therapy for pancreatic cancer May 6th, 2022
Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes April 5th, 2024
Nanomedicine
New micromaterial releases nanoparticles that selectively destroy cancer cells April 5th, 2024
Good as gold - improving infectious disease testing with gold nanoparticles April 5th, 2024
Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024
Sensors
Discoveries
Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes April 5th, 2024
New micromaterial releases nanoparticles that selectively destroy cancer cells April 5th, 2024
Utilizing palladium for addressing contact issues of buried oxide thin film transistors April 5th, 2024
Announcements
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
Premium Products | ||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||