Nanoparticle kit could diagnose disease early

Nature News ^ | 23 March 2010 | Katharine Sanderson

[neverdem]

Colour change shows the presence of minuscule amounts of key enzymes.

Enzymes snip apart the links between nanoparticles, prompting a colour change.Laromaine, A. et al.

A detection kit that uses nanoparticles to seek out tiny amounts of disease-related enzymes could offer sensitive and fast diagnoses of cancer, HIV and other diseases.

The diagnostic test has been developed and refined by Molly Stevens, a biomedical materials scientist at Imperial College London, and her colleagues. Stevens presented recent work on the test at the American Chemical Society meeting in San Francisco, California, on 21 March.

In earlier experiments, Stevens made a test for enzymes that would warn of the recurrence of cancer in men that have previously had a diseased prostate removed. To do this, she and her team took gold particles, 10 nanometres wide, and stuck short peptide chains to their surface. These peptides help link the gold nanoparticles together because they are attached at the other end to aromatic chemical groups called Fmoc that stack on top of one another and stick together.

When the nanoparticles are linked together in this way, they form a blue solution. But when the solution is exposed to nACT-PSA, an enzyme related to prostate cancer, it turns red¹.

This colour change happens because the nanoparticles disperse after the enzyme — a protease — munches its...

• References

  1. Laromaine, A., Koh, L., Murugesan, M., Ulijn, R. V. & Stevens, M. M. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 129, 4156-4157 (2007). | Article | ChemPort |
  2. Maher, R. C. et al. J. Phys. Chem. C advance online publication doi:10.1021/jp905493u (2010).

[acapesket]

When introducing non human genetically modified material into the human body
one must take into account what this GMO material contains. Often there are virus, fungi and bacteria that were never intended for human consumption.
Be careful what you wish for.

[neverdem]

When introducing non human genetically modified material into the human body
one must take into account what this GMO material contains. Often there are virus, fungi and bacteria that were never intended for human consumption.

Did you read the story? This is a diagnostic test.

[rmlew]

Good idea, but I fear this test being mandatory before getting insurance.

[acapesket]

I did read the story.
GMO/nano was never intended for the human body period.

[neverdem]

I did read the story.
GMO/nano was never intended for the human body period.

You didn't understand it. Read it again. Read the links in reference# 1. They are detecting the presence of an enzyme from a sample placed in solution that includes the modified gold nanoparticles by a color change in the solution.

"She is now working with clinicians to investigate detecting markers for oral cancer in saliva, and she also wants to try and use the test to screen drug candidates that work as inhibitors of protease enzymes, or for testing for enzymes in river water that are indicative of certain bacteria."

BTW, genetically modified organisms make the insulin that insulin dependent diabetics use.

[Revolting cat!]

Unfortunately, because the kit is nanoparticle, it is so small, you cannot see it, you cannot sell it, you cannot grab it. Thank you for playing, please try again.