(Press-News.org) From man-made toxic chemicals such as industrial by-products to poisons that occur naturally, a water or food supply can be easily contaminated. And for every level of toxic material ingested, there is some level of bodily response, ranging from minor illness to painful certain death.
Biosensors have long been used to safeguard against exposure to toxic chemicals. Food tasters employed by the ancients acted as early versions of biosensors, determining if a meal had been poisoned. More modern examples include the use of fish, which may alter their swimming characteristics if a toxic material is introduced into to the water. But although current warning systems are more sophisticated, they require equipment and time that a soldier in the field or an adventurer in the wilderness do not have.
Now Prof. Yosi Shacham-Diamand, Vice Dean of Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Engineering, along with Prof. Shimshon Belkin of the Institute of Life Sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has married biology and engineering to produce a biosensor device called the "Dip Chip," which detects toxicity quickly and accurately, generating low false positive and false negative readings. The Dip Chip contains microbes designed to exhibit a biological reaction to toxic chemicals, emulating the biological responses of humans or animals.
Converting biological response to electricity
The biological reaction is converted into an electronic signal that can be read by the user. When perfected for commercial applications, the chip might be easily plugged into a mobile device to determine toxicity, says Prof. Shacham-Diamand.
The new chips are based on genetically modified microbes developed in Prof. Belkin's lab. When the modified microbes are exposed to toxic or poisonous materials, they produce a measurable biochemical reaction — and this is where Prof. Shacham-Diamand's work begins.
"In my lab, we developed a method for communicating with the microbes, converting this biological response to electrical signals," he explains. The device, which looks like a dip stick, immobilizes these specially-produced microbes next to the sensing electrodes. Once the microbes come into contact with a questionable substance they produce a chemical signal that is converted to an electrical current by an device that can interpret the signals, producing a binary "toxic" or "not toxic" diagnosis.
In the future, Prof. Shacham-Diamand hopes that smaller versions of the Dip Chips might be plugged into existing mobile electronic devices, such as cell phones or tablets, to give the user a toxicity reading. This would make it an economically feasible and easy-to-use technology for people such as campers or for military purposes.
Reading any toxic material
One of the chip's advantages is its ability to identify toxicity as a biological quality instead of specific toxic chemicals. There are already excellent detectors to identify specific toxic materials, says Prof. Shacham-Diamand. The Dip Chip, however, is designed to alert the user to overall toxicity. And because the chip measures general toxicity, it will pick up on any and all toxic materials — even those that have not been discovered or invented yet.
Beyond their ability to find toxic chemicals in the field, these chips can also be put to use in the cosmetics or pharmaceuticals industries, says Prof. Shacham-Diamand. They could be used to detect the toxicity of new compounds, minimizing the controversial use of lab animals. Using the same technology, the researchers have also developed a larger-scale device which allows water to flow continuously over the sensor, making it appropriate for online, real-time monitoring of water supplies.
The results of their research have been published in a number of journals, including Electrochimica Acta and Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical.
###
American Friends of Tel Aviv University (www.aftau.org) supports Israel's leading, most comprehensive and most sought-after center of higher learning. Independently ranked 94th among the world's top universities for the impact of its research, TAU's innovations and discoveries are cited more often by the global scientific community than all but 10 other universities.
Internationally recognized for the scope and groundbreaking nature of its research and scholarship, Tel Aviv University consistently produces work with profound implications for the future.
END
ST. LOUIS, MO, May 14, 2012—Arranging DNA fragments into a genome sequence that scientists can interpret is a challenge often compared to assembling a puzzle except you don't have the box and have no idea what the picture is supposed to be. Sometimes clues from other publicly-available DNA sequences of related organisms can be used to guide the assembly process, but its usefulness depends on how closely related any two sequences are to one another. For example, a reference genome might be so distantly related from the one being assembled, it would be akin to comparing a ...
Aging is a process to which all people are subject, but virtually no individual wants to endure. From fine lines to deep wrinkles, aging has the power to change one's skin quite drastically. A team of British scientists has identified several key genes that contribute to the process of aging--a feat that many believe will assist the healthcare and skincare industries in the development of more potent anti-aging therapies. DermaVeratrol, a popular anti-aging brand, believes that its product already works with these genes to create younger looking complexions.
According ...
Can the temperature of the food we eat affect the intensity of its taste? It depends on the taste, according to a new study by Dr. Gary Pickering and colleagues from Brock University in Canada. Their work shows that changes in the temperature of foods and drinks have an effect on the intensity of sour, bitter and astringent (e.g. cranberry juice) tastes but not sweetness. Their work is published online in Springer's Chemosensory Perception journal.
We are all familiar with the effect of temperature on taste - think about starting to eat or drink something while it is ...
Hair care products are commonly sold separately, requiring consumers to purchase several products in order to achieve the full benefits offered by the brand. For instance, many hair revitalization systems require the use of both shampoo and conditioner but sell these items individually. Keranique is a hair care company that is changing this method of shopping by launching a hair care kit that includes all of the items consumers need to get results. Among these items is a product that includes an FDA-approved ingredient that contributes to hair regrowth.
Keranique has ...
(San Antonio)—Nice guys do finish last at least when it comes to procreation according to a study from The University of Texas at San Antonio that answers the question of why women choose bad boys.
Research from Kristina Durante, assistant professor of marketing at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) College of Business, finds that hormones associated with ovulation influence women's perceptions of men as potential fathers.
"Previous research has shown in the week near ovulation women become attracted to sexy, rebellious and handsome men like George Clooney ...
Education is a growing political issue in Sweden, school politics is becoming increasingly important to Swedish voters in elections to parliament, and the share of voters who support the school politics of the Liberal Party has increased. These are three trends pointed out in new reports from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
The three reports are based on longitudinal voter behaviour studies that started in 1979 and 1987. The new updates concern the period between the elections in 2006 and 2010. Maria Jarl, political scientist who is studying school politics, has ...
In recent years, there has been much ink spilled on the subject of why the housing industry has taken such a dive--or at least, why it is less robust than it once was. Some experts say that it is simply the result of a tumultuous economy, but the New York Times has a different theory. In a recent article on the proliferation of "house flipping" TV shows, the publication muses that the decline in real estate sales may be directly related to the dim view that these TV programs take of real estate investment. Indeed, the Times piece declares that real estate-themed ...
Toronto, CANADA – A walk in the park may have psychological benefits for people suffering from depression.
In one of the first studies to examine the effect of nature walks on cognition and mood in people with major depression, researchers in Canada and the U.S. have found promising evidence that a walk in the park may provide some cognitive benefits.
The study was led by Marc Berman, a post-doctoral fellow at Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute in Toronto, with partners from the University of Michigan and Stanford University. It is published online this week, ahead ...
A recent CBS report has retailers gearing up for increased sales for this upcoming Mother's Day. Since 1908, Americans have come together every year on this springtime Sunday to honor mothers everywhere. Over one hundred years later, the public continues to show its appreciation of our creation and development without sparing any expense. Twigs Cafe, a quaint, local restaurant tucked away in the charming Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania is just one of the many businesses preparing to help consumers celebrate our treasured female figures.
The report quotes research conducted ...
Reticulated dragonet have been found in Väderöarna – "Weather Islands" – off the west coast of Sweden. It is not often that a new species of fish is discovered in Sweden.
Lars-Ove Loo is the underwater photographer who has captured the fish on film. He saw it while making an inventory ahead of the creation of a new nature reserve in the islands. This was in August 2010, 19 meters below the surface of the sea south of Lyngö in the southern Väderöarna (58° 32.554' N, 11° 05.373' E).
Reticulated dragonet (Callionymus reticulatus) is similar to its more common Swedish relatives ...
