Chemists have developed nano sensors for detecting multiple proteins in tiny samples.
Could you ever imagine that one day testing a protein in your tiny sample would be so easy, just like performing a pregnancy strip test at home. Yes, this is made possible by a group of chemists from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). They have developed a new method for multiple 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. The method is quite efficient, quick and cost-effective which means it may find application in medicine, water monitoring, environment technology, food analysis, etc.
The procedure involves taking of a small drop of sample which can be blood, saliva or any body fluid on a small test strip. The test strips consist of glass capillary tubes that basically have gold nano-particles as sensor elements on their internal surfaces. Because the test sample is very small so nano sized sensors are to be used in order to identify many proteins. The nano-particles are prepared using specific DNA strands which have affinity to the foreign proteins. Thus, when a protein locks with one of these special DNA strands, the corresponding nano-particle changes its color. This change is then detected by a spectrometer. This is a very simple method by which multiple proteins can be identified simultaneously in a fluid-flow containing randomly placed nano-rods, reported by researchers from JGU’s Institute of Physical Chemistry.
The study published in Nano Letters can be very useful for detecting various flu viruses that infects people world-wide. Also, it will be used in detection of various kinds of toxin in environment or food, particularly milk or baby food as well as in identifying doping cases.
Reference:
Rosman C, Prasad J, Neiser A, Henkel A, Edgar J, & Sönnichsen C (2013). Multiplexed Plasmon Sensor for Rapid Label-Free Analyte Detection. Nano letters PMID: 23789876
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