Nanosensor discovery ‘could revolutionise treatment monitoring’

Scientists have created a new type of nanosensor with wide potential for monitoring changes within the body, which could have positive healthcare implications.

A collaborative project between UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) and the University of Rome Tor Vergata has resulted in the development of sensors, made using customised DNA molecules, which can detect a broad class of proteins called transcription factors.

These proteins are responsible for translating genomic instructions into cell activity, meaning that reading changes in these molecules can help to monitor the progress of stem cell therapy, or to assess a patient's suitability to a personalised medicine regimen.

Researchers noted that it would previously take hours to extract transcription factor proteins in order to read them, while this new method is quick and convenient.

Andrew Bonham, a postdoctoral scholar at UCSB, said: "With the new sensors, we just mash the cells up, put the sensors in and measure the level of fluorescence of the sample."

This comes at a time when personalised medicine approaches are becoming more important, with a 2010 report from the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development noting that many firms are changing their research structures to capitalise on this trend.