MELBOURNE, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Researchers in Australia have developed a cell-inspired sensor that can rapidly track tiny molecular changes in blood, paving the way to real-time, personalized medicine.
A team led by Australia's La Trobe University created a light-based biosensor that overcomes one of the biggest barriers in blood testing: that blood quickly clogs most sensors, making accurate instant readings almost impossible over long periods of time, a university statement said Thursday.
The device combines a natural protective coating called lubricin, fast-responding receptors and a detection technique known as Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) to mimic the way real cell surfaces protect themselves and sense molecules.
In a trial, the sensor tracked the antibiotic vancomycin in unprocessed blood samples without any loss in sensitivity over more than 10 hours of continuous exposure, according to the study published in the journal ACS Sensors.
Other sensors had detected Vancomycin but this was 100 million times more sensitive, making it the first practical, real-time SERS sensor capable of working inside a fluid like blood, said research co-leader Han Mingyu from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Australia's national science agency.
La Trobe University Associate Professor and research lead Wren Greene said the technology could lead to real-time health-monitoring systems that could automatically adjust drug delivery or alert clinicians to early signs of illness, critical for early disease detection and monitoring the body's response to treatments. ■
