Sep 20 2010
Scientists at the Yale-based Becton Engineering and Applied Science Center, under the guidance of Professor Mark Reed, have been advancing and experimenting on biosensors which have the capability to detect cancer causing molecules in blood.
Professor Reed stated that his major aim is to establish a base for the next bioelectronics generation and that the biosensors for cancer were one among the applications that were advanced in the course.
Reed explained that he has been structuring devices to study the cellular level biological data transmission from the brain and such systems. Reed mentioned that the biological systems perform electrical and biochemical signaling for data transmission and for studying the methodology by which the cells recognize these patterns, one should know about the working environment of the cell.
Reed’s research team along with the researchers from Professor Tarek Fahmy’s laboratory, could structure highly-sensitive biomolecular detectors that can identify cancer markers and proteins.
According to Aleksandar Vacic GRD ’11, a graduate student in Reed’s laboratory and the designer and constructor of the sensors, the detectors resemble common, miniature processing chips, but the flat surfaces are embedded with nanowired sensors with projecting receptors that can bind to a specific protein and the chemicals for structuring the biosensors are placed on pure discs made out of shiny silicon as conventional electronic devices will not be operative in water and that they are designing the sensors in the laboratory to avoid this issue.
Vacic remarked that changing the top nanowired sensor material enhances the lifespan and sensitivity of the devise.
Upon binding of specific proteins to the receptor on the device, electrical signals will pass through the wire which connect the chip and the computer and is displayed as a graph, remarked Nitin Rajan GRD ’13, who created the software and designed the hardware for identifying the programme. Rajan also stated that he is trying to avoid all sorts of interruptions that disrupt the signaling process in the sensor.
Reed said that the chips can retain about 10 sensors now and have the capacity to accommodate millions of sensors for identifying various diseases. Recently Reed’s laboratory is focusing on the device’s technological aspects which will enable other scientists to advance any alternative electronics.
Source: http://www.eng.yale.edu