A new "lab on a chip" designed at BYU reveals
the presence of ultra-low concentrations of a
target molecule with simplified testing that
could make lab testing faster and more
accessible. BYU chemist Adam Woolley and his
students hope their prototype will work as a
blueprint for making inexpensive diagnostic
tests for a variety of diseases and genetic
disorders. In the journal of Analytical
Chemistry, Woolley and his co-authors report
that using a credit card sized new device, they
detected as little as a single nanogram -- one
billionth of a gram -- of the target molecule
from a drop of liquid. And instead of sending
the sample to a lab for chemical analysis, the
chip allows them to measure with such
precision using their own eyes.
"The nice thing about the system that we have
developed is that this could be done anywhere,"
Woolley said. "Somebody could put the sample
in, look at it, and have the result they need."
The trick is to line a tiny pipe with receptors
that catch a specific molecule and allow others
to pass by. When a drop of liquid is placed on
the clear chip, capillary action draws the fluid
through the channel, flowing up to one
centimeter per second. As more of the target
molecules are snagged by the receptors, the
space constricts and eventually stops the flow.
How far the sample flows is a direct indication
of the concentration of the target molecule
(higher concentration = shorter distance, lower
concentration = longer distance).
Woolley and his students hope their prototype
will work as a blueprint for making inexpensive
diagnostic tests for a variety of diseases and
genetic disorders.
"There are a lot of molecules associated with
diseases where concentrations around a
nanogram per milliliter or less in blood are the
difference between a disease state versus a
healthy state," Woolley said.
For more information on the new device see:
http://news.byu.edu/archive12-oct-
microfluidic.aspx
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