Key Highlights:
- New designer biosensors take researchers one step closer to revolutionizing a US$70 billion worldwide diagnostic business.
- Protein biosensors have the potential to improve patient care by enabling advanced testing on less expensive lab equipment and novel point-of-care devices.
- Professor Alexandrov stated that future studies will concentrate on the stability, sensitivity, and manufacturability of protein biosensors.
Revolutionizing a $70 billion diagnostic business
With new designer biosensors that switch on’ color or electrical reactions to medications used in cancer, arthritis, and organ transplant treatment, researchers are one step closer to revolutionizing a US$70 billion worldwide diagnostic business.
In collaboration with Clarkson University in the United States and Pathology Queensland, researchers from the CSIRO-QUT Synthetic Biology Alliance demonstrated their modular approach to building small molecule biosensors – artificial proteins designed to capture biomarkers of choice and produce measurable responses.
The new designer biosensors were modified in two different experiments to reliably detect immunosuppressant medications cyclosporine A, tacrolimus, and rapamycin, as well as the anticancer agent methotrexate, which requires constant monitoring to prevent toxicity and organ damage.
Potential of protein biosensors in the global diagnostic industry
Professor Kirill Alexandrov, the study’s lead author, stated that protein biosensors have the potential to improve patient care and enhance the global diagnostic industry by enabling advanced testing on less expensive lab equipment and novel point-of-care devices.
“Proteins are at the heart of a $70 billion global diagnostic industry that is highly reliant on central lab processing,” Professor Alexandrov explained.
“Our new designer biosensor technology will enable tests such as therapeutic medication monitoring to be performed on less complex equipment found in local, regional, or distant labs and hospitals.”
Researchers demonstrated that a biosensor could reliably assess cyclosporine A levels in one microlitre blood sample, suggesting that future tests may require fewer biological samples.
“With further development, biosensor technology might lead to a fingerstick test that could give clinicians with patient findings in 3-5 minutes during a routine appointment,” stated Professor Alexandrov.
Protein intricacy and fragility, according to Professor Alexandrov, made the production and usage of protein biosensors problematic, but the modular design alleviated the difficulty and could potentially target any tiny molecule – not only therapeutic pharmaceuticals.
According to him, the novel proteins were created by engineered bacteria that were transformed using recombinant DNA technology to create artificial switch molecules that were customized to recognize a certain medicine.
When triggered, the various protein biosensors either create a change in color for hue-based measurements or an electrochemical current.
Professor Alexandrov stated that the team experimented with applications based on conventional glucometer technology in order to create a low-cost, portable, and accurate gadget.
“Activated electrochemical biosensors degraded glucose and created electrons as byproducts to generate electrical current proportionate to the amount of captured target molecule,” he explained.
“In addition, the Clarkson team proved the capability of multiplexing this technique to detect two separate biomarkers at the same time.”
Further studies to be done
Despite the success of the experiment, Professor Alexandrov stated that glucometer technology was application-specific, and researchers would need to re-engineer devices and manufacturing methods for new clinical applications.
“When developing a medical gadget, there are a plethora of characteristics to consider.” It’s quite difficult, which is why new diagnostic technologies are introduced to the market so slowly,” he explained.
Professor Alexandrov is a member of the Queensland University of Technology’s Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, the QUT Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, and the QUT Faculty of Science. He stated that future studies will concentrate on the stability, sensitivity, and manufacturability of the new designer biosensors.
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