14 BIOTECHNOLOGY
Biosensors could detect poisons or proteins in blood samples
Biosensors, says Sean Ottewell, are about to take a huge leap forward in sensitivity following research successes both in Europe and the USA.
Les biocapteurs, indique Sean Ottewell, sont sur le point de faire un énorme bond en avant en termes de sensibilité grâce aux recherches menées à bien à la fois en Europe et aux États-Unis.
Laut Sean Ottewell ist man nach Forschungserfolgen in Europa und den USA kurz davor, die Empfindlichkeit von Biosensoren einen großen Schritt nach vorn zu bringen.
used in highly-sensitive biosensors. The novel nanosensors could be tailor-made
A
to instantly detect the presence of particular molecules, for example poisons or proteins in patients’ blood samples, with high sensitivity. The researchers were led by Imperial College
London physicists funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The team showed that by putting together two specific nanostructures made of gold or silver, they can make an early prototype device which, once optimised, should exhibit a highly sensitive ability to detect particular chemicals in the immediate surroundings.
The nanostructures are each about 500 times smaller than the width of a human hair. One is shaped like a flat circular disk while the other looks like a doughnut with a hole in the middle. When brought together they interact with light very differently to the way they behave on their own. The scientists have observed that when they are paired up they scatter some specific colours within white light much less, leading to an increased amount of light passing through the
fundamental science discovery made by UK, Belgian and US research groups has resulted in tiny new sensor structures that could be
structure undisturbed. This is distinctly different to how both
structures scatter light separately. This decrease in the interaction with light is in turn affected by the composition of molecules in close proximity to the structures. The researchers hope that this effect can be harnessed to produce sensor devices. Lead researcher on the project is professor
Stefan Maier from Imperial’s department of physics, who is also an associate of Imperial’s Institute for Security Science and Technology. He said: “Pairing up these structures has a unique effect on the way they scatter light – an effect which could be very useful if, as our computer simulations suggest, it is extremely sensitive to changes in surrounding environment. With further testing we hope to show that it is possible to harness this property to make a highly sensitive nanosensor.” Metal nanostructures have been used as
sensors before, as they interact very strongly with light due to so-called localised plasmon resonances. But this is the first time a pair with such a carefully tailored interaction with light has been created. The device could be tailored to detect different chemicals by decorating the nanostructure
Fig. 1. Aptamers are capable of detecting certain organic substances, such as undesirable pharmaceutical residues, that enter the environment through wastewater.
www.scientistlive.com
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