New technology for bioseparation

Microfluidics and magnets replace pipettes and test tubes to simplify and improve diagnostics and detection of biomolecules

2013-09-17

(Press-News.org) WASHINGTON, D.C. Sept. 17, 2013 -- Separating target molecules in biological samples is a critical part of diagnosing and detecting diseases. Usually the target and probe molecules are mixed and then separated in batch processes that require multiple pipetting, tube washing and extraction steps that can affect accuracy.

Now a team of researchers at Brown University has developed a simple new technique that is capable of separating tiny amounts of the target molecules from mixed solutions by single motion of magnet under a microchannel. Their technique may make pipettes and test tubes a thing of the past in some diagnostic applications and increase the accuracy and sensitivity of disease detection.

The new platform developed by Anubhav Tripathi and his team at Brown doesn't rely on external pumps to mix samples or flow target molecules. Instead, their system is static and handy for researchers to use, according to Ms. Jingjing Wang, a graduate student pursuing her PhD. Bead-like magnetic particles are specifically modified by attaching short pieces of DNA to them that can capture target DNA molecules with specific sequences matching. Those are then separated for detection simply by pulling the magnetic beads along the channel. The process is simple, fast and specific.

This process has great applicability particularly for point-of-care platforms that are used to detect bacterial, viral infections and prion diseases by DNA, RNA or protein identification. Specific disease applications include testing for HIV and influenza, explained Wang.

"It can also be used to evaluate the expression of certain protein markers, such as troponin (an indicator of damage to the heart muscle) or any detection that requires binding and separation of known target biomolecules," she added.

Optimizing the system and characterizing the chip for biological assays was the biggest challenge for the research team as it required that both engineering as well as biological factors be considered, however the team is already developing assays using this new platform. A new microchip based Simple Method of Amplifying RNA Targets (SMART) assay developed to detect influenza from patient samples is already showing high agreement with Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), which is considered the "gold standard" for influenza diagnosis. The team's next challenge is developing assays using this technique to detect wild type and drug-resistant HIV in areas with limited resources such as Kenya and South Africa.

INFORMATION:

The article, "Microfluidic Platform for Isolating Nucleic Acid Targets Using Sequence Specific Hybridization" by Jingjing Wang, Kenneth Morabito, Jay X. Tang and Anubhav Tripathi appears in the journal Biomicrofluidics. See: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4816943

ABOUT THE JOURNAL

Biomicrofluidics publishes research highlighting fundamental physiochemical mechanisms associated with microfluidic and nanofluidic phenomena as well as novel microfluidic and nanofluidic techniques for diagnostic, medical, biological, pharmaceutical, environmental, and chemical applications. See: http://bmf.aip.org

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Predicting who will have chronic pain

2013-09-17

CHICAGO --- Abnormalities in the structure of the brain predispose people to develop chronic pain after a lower back injury, according to new Northwestern Medicine® research. The findings could lead to changes in the way physicians treat patients' pain. Most scientists and clinicians have assumed chronic back pain stems from the site of the original injury. "We've found the pain is triggered by these irregularities in the brain," said A. Vania Apkarian, senior author of the study and a professor of physiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. ...

What a pain in the… groin!

2013-09-17

ROSEMONT, Ill.—She wasn't born this way, but even Lady Gaga experienced groin pain—typically a symptom of hip disease such as arthritis of the hip—or, in her case, a hip labral tear. Groin pain is a common health complaint. According to a literature review appearing in the September 2013 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS), one in four people develop hip arthritis—damage to the surfaces in the hip joint—before the age of 85 that contributes to groin pain. Contributing factors to the development of hip arthritis and, subsequently, ...

Why kids breathe easier in summer

2013-09-17

A good night's sleep is important to our children's development. But with the first day of school just passed, many children are at increased risk for sleep breathing disorders that can impair their mental and physical development and hurt their academic performance. A study conducted in North America in 2011 showed that the frequency of sleep-disordered breathing increases in the winter and spring. Until now, researchers believed asthma, allergies, and viral respiratory infections like the flu contributed to disorders that affect children's breathing during sleep. Now, ...

Clean energy least costly to power America's electricity needs

2013-09-17

It's less costly to get electricity from wind turbines and solar panels than coal-fired power plants when climate change costs and other health impacts are factored in, according to a new study published in Springer's Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. In fact—using the official U.S. government estimates of health and environmental costs from burning fossil fuels—the study shows it's cheaper to replace a typical existing coal-fired power plant with a wind turbine than to keep the old plant running. And new electricity generation from wind could be more economically ...

Study determines best arrangement of tidal sails device

2013-09-17

WASHINGTON D.C. Sept. 17, 2013 -- In the long sprint to find new sources of clean, low-cost power, slow and steady might win the race -- the slow-moving water of currents and tides, that is. Just as wind turbines tap into the energy of flowing air to generate electricity, hydrokinetic devices produce power from moving masses of water. In a paper appearing in AIP Publishing's Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, Ramon Fernandez-Feria, a professor of fluid mechanics at Universidad de Málaga in Spain, and his colleagues Joaquin Ortega-Casanova and Daniel Cebrián ...

OptSwap optimizes microbial strain design for production-scale bioprocessing

2013-09-17

New Rochelle, NY, September 17, 2013—Using a new in silico method called OptSwap scientists can predict how to engineer microorganisms to increase the yield of high-value biobased chemicals produced by industrial-scale cell factories. This example of how advanced computational tools are being applied to genome-scale metabolic modeling in microbes illustrates the important contributions from the field of Systems Biology, as highlighted in a special research section in Industrial Biotechnology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert Inc., publisher. The articles are ...

Death & disability from air pollution down 35 percent in the US

2013-09-17

Arden Pope's students know him as an excellent economics teacher, but some would be surprised to learn that, thanks to him, the air they breathe today is cleaner than the first breath they ever took. In fact, a new study by this BYU professor concludes that improvements in U.S. air quality since 1990 have sparked a 35 percent reduction in deaths and disability specifically attributable to air pollution. Pope was a member of a large research team who co-authored the study for the Journal of the American Medical Association. "Some of the best news relative to the air ...

Speeding up cancer diagnosis during surgery

2013-09-17

Tissue-conserving cancer surgery is a highly skilled procedure which involves time-consuming tissue preparation to detect the margins of cancerous tissue. The goal is to remove as much of the tumour as possible while sparing healthy tissue. With funding from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), experts at The University of Nottingham have developed a highly accurate prototype technique which can produce a detailed 'spectroscopic fingerprint' of each tissue layer removed during surgery. This technique — which can produce detailed maps of the tissue rich ...

Wetlands more cost-effective in nutrient removal, but multiple payments would be of uncertain value

2013-09-17

URBANA, Ill. – Removing nitrogen from the environment "the natural way" by creating a wetland is a long-term, nutrient-removal solution, more cost effective than upgrading a wastewater treatment plant, but it isn't necessarily socially beneficial to offer landowners multiple payments for the environmental services that flow from such wetlands, according to a study conducted at the University of Illinois. "In the areas we studied in Bureau County with small wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), it was much cheaper to do pollution control by installing just a few wetlands ...

Entitlement-minded workers more likely to claim bosses mistreat them, new UNH research shows

2013-09-17

DURHAM, N.H. – Employees who have a sense of unjustified entitlement are more likely to say that their bosses are abusive and mistreat them than their less entitlement-minded coworkers, according to new research from the University of New Hampshire. The research was conducted by Paul Harvey, associate professor of organizational behavior at UNH, and his research colleagues Kenneth Harris from Indiana University Southeast, William Gillis from the University of South Alabama, and Mark Martinko from the University of Queensland. It is presented in The Leadership Quarterly ...

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

New technology for bioseparation

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: