Cambridge teams awarded grant for biosensor research
21 November 2005
Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Medical Research Council (MRC) are part of a consortium which has been awarded a nearly £1M grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The research project focuses on the development of new “biosensors” for the detection of markers of cancer and infectious diseases.
The Cambridge branch of the project is being led by Dr Paul Ko Ferrigno from the MRC Cancer Cell Unit and Professor Piero Migliorato from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering. Other groups funded by the BBSRC include Dr Jason Davis from the Oxford University Chemistry Department (Project Leader), and Dr Ejaz Huq from the Central Microstructure Facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. These groups will provide the project with essential expertise in surface chemistry, electroanalysis, imaging and microfabrication.
The goal of the project is to produce low cost disposable sensors that can have applications such as identifying cancer markers in patient samples. These portable sensors would have the capability to process 100,000 signals simultaneously and would be suitable for home or field use as well as for specialised laboratories.
Professor Migliorato’s group has shown that electrical signals can be generated and detected after strands of DNA interact and pair with each other. These signals can be detected by specially designed polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors (TFTs). These electronic devices, which are ten times smaller than a grain of salt, are similar to those employed to produce images in LCD computer and TV screens.
Dr Ko Ferrigno’s group has developed “peptide aptamers”, which are special types of proteins that can be coupled to the TFTs to detect the presence of other proteins in a sample. This technology has many applications including the potential to be used to detect markers of avian flu virus infection in patient samples. These peptide aptamers provide a substantial advance over other current technologies.
Professor Migliorato said: “Polycrystalline silicon TFTs are used to fabricate microcircuits on glass or plastics, the main present application being in multi-functional mobile phones. The biosensor system we have in mind is similar to a mobile phone: a compact, low power consumption portable instrument, with a video and wireless interface, which can be used at the patient bed as well as in the field. The range of applications is enormous, from medical to forensic, environment protection and bioterrorism prevention.”
Dr Ko Ferrigno said: “Such a device would solve not one but two different problems. The first is that it would enable population-wide screening, at home or in a doctor's surgery, to allow early diagnosis of diseases such as cancer- where the earlier we pick up symptoms, the more effectively we can treat the patient. The second is that biologists will finally have a tool that will allow them to answer literally hundreds of thousands of questions simultaneously- all for the price of a new test tube! This is an unusual marriage of biology and cutting edge engineering that should really pay dividends in our own lifetimes.”
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