This is so simple. There must be some identifiable proteins that circulate in the blood post-stroke. This would be a fast objective way to then diagnose a stroke. And we can get away from the stupidity of the current, 'Is it a stroke or drunkenness?'. Which stroke association is going to fail to recognize and promote this possibility? I bet all of them.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=133385&CultureCode=en
Chemists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have developed a
new method for parallel protein analysis that is, in principle, capable
of identifying hundreds or even thousands of different proteins. It
could be used to detect the presence of viruses and identify their type
in tiny samples. At the same time, it is very cost-effective and quick.
"We see possible applications of this technique in medicine, where it
could be used, for example, for the rapid diagnosis of a wide range of
diseases. It would be almost as easy to use as a pregnancy test strip,"
said Professor Carsten Sönnichsen of the Institute of Physical
Chemistry. The test involves placing a tiny drop of blood, saliva, or
other bodily fluid on a small test strip, which is then placed in a
device developed at the JGU Institute of Physical Chemistry. This device
is able to identify the specific proteins in the fluid and thus allows
to quickly and reliably differentiate between harmless microorganisms
and dangerous pathogens.
In order to detect the many different substances present in a small
sample, the sensors need to be as tiny as possible, preferably the size
of nano-particles. Sönnichsen's team of scientists have designed a
sensor no larger than the head of a pin but capable of performing a
hundred different individual tests on a surface that is only of
one-tenth of a square millimeter in area. The 'test strips' consist of
glass capillary tubes that have gold nano-particles as sensor elements
on their internal surfaces. "We first prepare our nano-particles using
short DNA strands, each of which binds to a specific type of protein,"
explained Janak Prasad, who developed the functionalization method. When
a protein docks with one of these special DNA strands, called aptamers,
the corresponding nano-particle changes its color. The color changes
can be detected with the aid of a spectrometer. For this purpose, the
capillary tubes are placed under a microscope designed, constructed, and
provided with the necessary software by the Mainz-based team of
chemists.
"We demonstrate a new approach for a multiplexed assay that detects
multiple proteins simultaneously by letting a fluid flow past the
randomly positioned gold nano-rods," explained Christina Rosman, first
author of the study. The team from JGU's Institute of Physical Chemistry
used four different target proteins to demonstrate the viability of the
new concept, its ability to detect concentrations in the nanomolar
range, and the possibility to recycle the sensors for more than one
analysis. "We see the potential to extend our method to the simultaneous
detection of hundreds or even thousands of different target
substances," assert the authors in their article published in the June
2013 issue of the journal Nano Letters. Low-cost serial production of
the sensors is feasible if advanced nano-fabrication methods such as
nano-printing or optical trapping are used.
There are manifold possible applications of a test for multiple
targets in a single procedure. The low-cost sensors could be directly
used by physicians in their practices in order to detect and
discriminate various types of flu viruses with which their patients
could be infected. In addition, the technique would also be suitable for
detecting the presence of toxins in the environment or in food,
particularly in liquids such as milk or baby food, or the presence of
doping or other illicit drugs.
Support for the research on this novel multiplexed protein sensor was
provided by the Graduate School of Excellence 'Materials Science in
Mainz' (MAINZ) and the European Research Council (ERC) 'Single Sense'
project.
http://www.uni-mainz.de/presse/16589_ENG_HTML.php
No comments:
Post a Comment