Bridging the gap for precision medicine: aptamer nanofluid nanoarrays
In the ever-evolving world of precision medicine, the need for methods that can measure biomolecules with the highest accuracy and specificity is paramount. Realizing this, Associate Professor Yan Xu of the Graduate School of Engineering at Osaka Metropolitan University and his international team of researchers have taken major steps in this direction. They have developed an innovative nanofluid device capable of stochastically capturing single proteins and digitally detecting them at their high natural concentrations. This breakthrough has the potential to lay the foundation for the future of personalized disease prevention and treatment.
In the ever-evolving world of precision medicine, the need for methods that can measure biomolecules with the highest accuracy and specificity is paramount. Realizing this, Associate Professor Yan Xu of the Graduate School of Engineering at Osaka Metropolitan University and his international team of researchers have taken major steps in this direction. They have developed an innovative nanofluid device capable of stochastically capturing single proteins and digitally detecting them at their high natural concentrations. This breakthrough has the potential to lay the foundation for the future of personalized disease prevention and treatment.
Precision medicine aims to tailor prevention and treatment strategies based on an individual’s genetic data, environmental factors, lifestyle, and other determinants. Integrated with this is the accurate measurement of biomolecules, such as genes and proteins, in a single cell. However, to date, there has been no tool capable of handling minuscule volumes of the contents of a single cell simultaneously—usually on the order of picoliters (10−12 L)—and quantify biomolecules in a high-concentration cellular environment.
The device, named the Nanofluidic Aptamer Nanoarray (or NANa for short), is a nanochannel-based chip designed for the digital assay of individual molecules in very small sample volumes equivalent to a single cell. Using synthetic antibodies known as aptamers, NANa can stochastically capture and digitally detect single molecules of target proteins even in high concentration samples. These aptamers, which bind to specific molecules, are tightly packed within the nanochannels of the device.
Going forward, the researchers plan to carry out practical demonstrations with actual cell samples, digitize the obtained measurement data, and explore the potential integration of AI-based image recognition technology and biological big data. “Humans are complex organisms composed of a large number of cells,” explained Professor Xu. “We hope NANa, which digitizes information about the number of biomolecules in individual cells, will serve as a bridge between life sciences and information science, paving the way for precision medicine in the future.”
The research results are planned to be published in Small on June 23, 2023.
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About OMU
Osaka Metropolitan University is a new public university founded in April 2022, formed by the merger between Osaka City University and Osaka Prefectural University. For more research news, visit https://www.omu.ac.jp/en/ or follow @OsakaMetUniv_en And #OMUSscience.
DOI
10.1002/small.202301013
Research methods
Experimental study
Research Subjects
Not applicable
Article title
Nanofluid aptamer nanoarrays to allow stochastic capture of single proteins at normal concentrations
Article Publication Date
23-Jun-2023
COI statement
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
