Disease Diagnosis In Just 15 Minutes? Biosensor Technology Uses Antibodies To Detect Biomarkers Much Faster

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081001093231.htm

 

Scientists have developed a biosensor technology that uses antibodies to detect

biomarkers much faster than current testing methods, paving the way for testing

for diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis that could be as simple as

using a pregnancy testing kit. (Credit: iStockphoto/Achim Prill)

 

Testing for diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis could soon be as

simple as using a pregnancy testing kit.

 

A team led by scientists at the University of Leeds has developed a biosensor

technology that uses antibodies to detect biomarkers – molecules in the human

body which are often a marker for disease – much faster than current testing

methods.

The technology could be used in doctors' surgeries for more accurate referral to

consultants, and in hospitals for rapid diagnosis. Tests have shown that the

biosensors can detect a wide range of analytes (substances being measured),

including biomarkers present in prostate and ovarian cancer, stroke, multiple

sclerosis, heart disease and fungal infections. The team also believes that the

biosensors are versatile enough to test for diseases such as tuberculosis and

HIV.

The technology was developed through a European collaboration of researchers and

commercial partners in a 2.7 million Euro project called ELISHA. It features new

techniques for attaching antibodies to innovative surfaces, and novel electronic

measurement methods that need no reagents or labels.

ELISHA was co-ordinated by Dr Millner from the Faculty of Biological

Sciences at the University of Leeds, and managed by colleague Dr Tim Gibson.

Says Dr Millner: " We believe this to be the next generation diagnostic testing.

We can now detect almost any analyte faster, cheaper and more easily than the

current accepted testing methodology. "

Currently blood and urine are tested for disease markers using a method called

ELISA (Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant Assay). Developed in the 1970s, the process

takes an average of two hours to complete, is costly and can only be performed

by highly trained staff.

The Leeds team are confident their new technology – which provides results in 15

minutes or less - could be developed into a small device the size of a mobile

phone into which different sensor chips could be inserted, depending on the

disease being tested for.

" We've designed simple instrumentation to make the biosensors easy to use and

understand, " says Dr Millner. " They'll work in a format similar to the glucose

biosensor testing kits that diabetics currently use. "

Professor Séamus Higson, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Biosciences,

Cranfield Health, and one of the partners within the ELISHA programme, says:

" The speed of response this technology offers will be of great benefit to early

diagnosis and treatment of many diseases, and will permit testing in

de-localised environments such as GP's surgeries. "

A spinout company – ELISHA Systems Ltd – has been set up by Dr Gibson,

commercial partners Uniscan Instruments Ltd and Technology Translators Ltd to

bring the technology to market.

Says Dr Gibson: " The analytes used in our research only scratch the surface of

the potential applications. We've also shown that it can be used in

environmental applications, for example to test for herbicides or pesticides in

water and antibiotics in milk. "

 

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