US based Iranian Engineer Devise Printable Diagnostic Lab Costs a Penny

MuslimScience — Mon, 17 Apr 2017 11:24:24 +0000

A team led by US based Iranian scientist has developed a printable diagnostic chip to catch the most lethal diseases at early stage.

The “ lab on a chip” system costs less than a penny to make and can test cells for possible signs of diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV, malaria and even cancer. The printable chip needs an ordinary inkjet printer and conductive nanoparticle ink.

“One of our main goals is to provide this low cost platform in low- resource settings area in Asia, Africa and even Latin American nations. We are very hopeful that this inexpensive and multi-functional platform enables greater individual access to diagnostic facilities in the developing countries,” says Rahim Esfandyarpour of Stanford University in an email to localhost/muslim.

Timely detection of the disease plays an important role in the treatment to save lives. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), breast cancer mortality is increasing in developing nations as compared to developed countries. 58 per cent of deaths occur in developing nation due to low detection of this cancer at early stage.

The survival rates of breast cancer are as high as 80 per cent in developed nations but almost half (40 per cent) in the low-income nations just because the absence of timely and affordable diagnosis facilities.

Draw, download, print and predict

The simple hand held lab comprises of two important parts; a clear silicone microfluidic chamber sits on a reusable electronic strip.

The silicone chamber holds the sample cells of disease and the electronic chip is made from polyester sheet on which circuit is carved through commercially available nano particle ink acts as conductor. The whole printing process needs just 20 minutes. User can download electronic designs to print for the different applications and this feature turns the strip into a multifunctional diagnostic platform

Instead of using fluorescent ink or other markers to look for diseases, the chip works by applying electric charge which separates the cells and drive them into different directions. Due to their “polarizability” – intrinsic electrical features – the cells pulled in different directions in the microfluidic chamber. This process helps to catch the disease at early stage, for instance it can separate the tumor cells in the blood sample as their charges are different.

Apart from separating the cells by type, the researchers can also switch to counting cells by printing a new circuit at the strip. In future an open database of different designs could be set for the required tasks that can easily be downloaded, printed out and use for various applications.

From lab to the field

The technology is simple with the high-tech concepts of microfluidics, electronics and inkjet printing technology. The low cost compact lab on chip could revolutionize disease diagnostics especially in the remote areas of low income regions. In future, only one lab assistant can produce cheap strip to look for HIV or malaria in a village in Africa or at the mountains of Afghanistan. The team is now looking for investors to commercialize their promising idea.

“We think the technology has the potential to not only advance health care, but also to accelerate basic and applied research around the globe. Although we have very promising results, we expect a bit more work toward commercialization of the solution,” Esfandyarpour added.

Rahim Esfandyarpour received his BSc from K N Toosi University in Tehran, Iran.

After doctorate in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, he is currently working at the Genome Technology Center at the same university.

Wasp venom ‘a weapon against cancer’

MuslimScience — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 11:23:35 +0000

The venom of a wasp native to Brazil could be used as a weapon to fight cancer, scientists believe.

A toxin in the sting kills cancer cells without harming normal cells, lab studies suggest.

The University of Brazil team say the experimental therapy latches to tumour cells and makes them leak vital molecules.

The work is at an early stage and more studies are needed to check the method will work safely in humans.

Polybia paulista is an aggressive social wasp endemic in south-east Brazil.

Though its sting is largely seen as unwelcome, scientists increasingly believe it could be put to good use.

It contains an important toxin called MP1 which the insect uses to attack prey or defend itself.

And recent studies in mice suggest it may target and destroy cancer cells.

Prof Joao Ruggiero Netto and colleagues set out to discover how, by putting it under the microscope.

They found MP1 interacts with fat molecules that are abnormally distributed on the surface of cancer cells, creating gaping holes that allow molecules crucial for cell function to leak out.

In healthy cells, the same molecules are hidden on the inside. This means healthy tissue should avoid MP1’s attack, the scientists say in Biophysical Journal.

Co-researcher Dr Paul Beales, from the University of Leeds, said cancer therapies that attacked the lipid composition of the cell membrane would be an entirely new class of anti-cancer drugs.

“This could be useful in developing new combination therapies, where multiple drugs are used simultaneously to treat a cancer by attacking different parts of the cancer cells at the same time,” he said.

Dr Aine McCarthy, science information officer for Cancer Research UK said: “This early stage research increases our understanding of how the venom of the Brazilian wasp can kill cancer cells in the laboratory.

“But while these findings are exciting, much more work is needed in the lab and in clinical trials before we will know if drugs based on this research could benefit cancer patients.”

This article was originally published in BBC. Follow article here.

anti cancer – Muslim Science

US based Iranian Engineer Devise Printable Diagnostic Lab Costs a Penny

Wasp venom ‘a weapon against cancer’