DNA test in 1h

Researchers from Panasonic and Belgian lab IMEC have created a new chip that could be a breakthrough in genetic disease detection and personalized treatment. It is a small chip, the size of a coin, which is capable of testing an individual's DNA in one hour. Just a drop of blood is required for the analysis. The tiny invention carries out the whole process fully automatically, even at the level of detecting variations in the DNA sequence.

Variations on an individual base of DNA are known as SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism). To detect and analyze them with the current technology and processes takes up to four days and can only be performed in specialized laboratories, thus the cost is very high. This new system not only reduces the time and cost of the process, but also makes available this analysis technique to more medical centers and hospitals. Researchers still have not provided data on how much it would cost, but at least it safe to assume that it will be an important step in creating personalized medical treatments for each patient.

The video below explains in detail the technology.

Source: http://www.diginfo.tv/v/13-0022-r-en.php

A lab under the skin

Its small size (it measures 20 millimeters in length and four in height) will allow taking it in the body for long periods of time. This is the prototype of a tiny electronic implant capable of analyzing molecules in the body and send the results to a computer or any mobile device in a few minutes.

Sandro Carrara and Giovanni de Micheli, scientists from the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), in Switzerland, who have developed it, show some applications of this implant. For example, the possibility to permanently track patients who are receiving chemotherapy, diabetic patients and other chronically ill so that they can reduce the frequency of traditional blood test in order to refine their doses of medication.

"The system consists of two parts. A device without battery which is placed under the skin and has a size that allows to insert it using a cannula. On the other hand, it consists of an electronic patch that is placed on the skin directly over the implant. The internal device collects information on various molecules found in the connective tissue and transmits it to the electronic patch, which in turn provides energy via electromagnetic induction. The external patch sends the information gathered by the internal implant to a smartphone or tablet via a radio transmitter. The batteries are only in the patch, so it can be replaced without removing the implant".

Carrara also says that the system is designed to be placed in the abdomen, but also can be worn on an arm or leg. According to him, the molecular analysis of connective tissue has a very high correlation with the amount of these molecules in the blood, which permits in practice to analyze the concentration of a large number of substances in our body. So far the system has been designed to detect up to five substances simultaneously. To capture each of them (glucose or lactose, for example), the five sensors are covered with an enzyme.

Scientists hope that in four years the implant can be used in hospitals and they believe it may also have a domestic use. "Potentially we can detect any substance," they say. Among them, any type of drug, but they need time to adapt the system to new applications. For its creators, this system is a step toward personalized medicine and telemedicine. In patients with chronic diseases, implants can send alerts even before symptoms appear to anticipate the need for medication. In the case of persons being subjected to a treatment, eg chemotherapy, the dose may be adjusted based on individual patient tolerance and not in the weekly analysis of blood or tables based on the age or weight.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/257898.php

Nanotechnology against cancer

As today is the World Cancer Day, I would like to draw your attention to what I believe will be the upcoming revolution in the fight against cancer: the nanotechnology.

Nanotech, as it is usually known, can be used to treat diseases like cancer by using nanoparticles which are 1000 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair. These nano particles have the ability to work at a molecular level, targeting the cancer cells and sparing the healthy ones contrary to traditional methods such as chemotherapy. Nanotech is intended to bring improvement to diagnostic and drug administration.

First, it allows better detection of cancer in its early stages and in specific parts of the body that could be missed by the traditional diagnostic methods, such as PET, SPECT, CT and MRI. The nanoparticles used in this case are made of gold and contain an antigen used to attach the nanoparticle to the cancer cell that contains receptors for that antigen. The gold is chosen because in reaction with red light it heats emitting an acoustic wave that can be detected by the medical imaging device. Secondly, the gold nanoparticle could also contain drug molecules with the purpose of killing the cancer cell once attached to it, for example using chemotherapy drug molecules. This kind of treatment brings much more efficient use of the drug, at the same time that it spares the normal cells. Also, another possibility is to heat the gold particles by using radio waves to destroy the cancer cells (Kanzius method).

As you can see, the nanotechnology is a field with enormous potential that will surely change the way we diagnose and treat cancer in the upcoming years. Cancer has won many battles against humanity, but nanotechnology is for the moment one of our biggest hopes of winning the war.

Sources:

http://nano.cancer.gov/

http://www-aarf.syr.edu/news/articles/2011/nanoparticles-10-11.html

http://www.kanziuscancerresearch.org/research/research_updates/

Very interesting video that explains how to use nanoparticles to target cancer cells: