A new paper-based test can detect disease biomarkers in urine.MIT NEWS, BRYCE VICKMARK
Instead of an expensive, unpleasant colonoscopy or MRI, a spoonful of yogurt followed by a urine test could soon enable accurate, early disease diagnosis. The invention could bring colon cancer screening to poor and remote populations and make the testing more accessible in the U.S. and other developed countries.
Researchers at MIT, led by bioengineer Sangeeta Bhatia, have designed synthetic nanoparticles coated with peptides that serve as substrates for cancer-specific enzymes. In the presence of the enzymes, called matrix metalloproteinases, the reaction products are excreted in urine and can be detected using a paper-based antibody test. This technique successfully identified colorectal cancer and blood clots in mice, the researchers reported earlier this year in PNAS.
Until recently, the technology required injecting mice with the nanoparticles. ...
