IIT-Hyderabad develop sensor device for faster detection of Heart diseases

Renu John, head of the research team, said Biomarkers, biological molecules that represent health and disease states, are specific chemicals that are released in the body in response to certain physiological conditions.

Cardiac troponins or cTns, for example, are biomarkers of heart diseases and are conventionally detected in the bloodstream using antibodies that bind specifically to them.

"Biosensors are devices that combine the sensing element (e.g. antibody) with a transducer that converts the interaction of antibody into an electrical or optical signal that can be measured.

Conventional biosensing includes such techniques as ELISA, chemiluminescent immunoassay and radioimmunoassay," he said.

Renu John and his team tested the performance of the microfluidic biosensors using blood serum of cardiac patients and compared the results with those of conventional chemiluminescence assays.

Prof. BD Malhotra from Delhi Technological University said, "The major issue with the conventional assays for the detection of cTns relates to poor sensitivity and limit of detection. Improvements in detecting biosensors such as cTns in the blood require improvements in the design of the biosensor."He believes that the technique can be extended to other diseases as well by varying the type of biomarker/antibody that is attached to the nanospheres.

Microfluidics based biosensing thus offers new opportunities in areas of biological engineering, biomedical studies, point-of-care diagnostics, and environmental monitoring.