Paper-based diagnostics has the potential to bring advanced medical care to clinical locales with limited resources. There have been a number of paper-based devices developed in the past, but they can be difficult to manufacture and have often suffered from complicated handling requirements. A team of researchers at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada have come up with a new way of printing paper biosensors that are stable and effective in detecting a variety of pathogens.
The technique relies on using a modified inkjet printer to put down ink consisting of “megadalton-sized tandem repeating structure-switching DNA aptamers.” These remain stable and strongly attached to the paper right after printing, but are sufficiently flexible to change their structure and remain compatible with fluorescence imaging. This allows the DNA strands to spot just about any microorganism, including bacteria, viruses, as well as small molecules that are markers for disease.
The team envisions a future where clinics and doctors’ offices will have specialized printers that can produce biosensors specifically for individual patients to help diagnose their conditions. Moreover, the same technology can be used to screen food for pathogens, hopefully preventing food borne infections that ravage poor parts of the world.
Study in European journal Chemistry: Patterned Paper Sensors Printed with Long-Chain DNA Aptamers…
Source: McMaster University…