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The future is nano. New methods to detect cancer earlier than has been possible so far

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by using nano-sized gold particles. They use instruments that can carry individual cells

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for medical analysis with the help of micro-systems and nano-structures and miniaturize laboratories

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on a single chip that can detect infections in the body or the quality of our food. Researchers

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are embracing challenging micro- and nano-technologies all over Europe.

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Barcelona in Spain. The lively city is home to a leading European research group developing

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a low-cost molecular detection tool, the BioFinger.

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Joan Baucels and Guillermo Villanueva from the Centro Nacional de Microelectronica in

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Bellaterra, near Barcelona, are developing tiny chips that could detect a huge variety

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of substances, from cancer cells to chemical ingredients. Their revolutionary idea is to

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use physical forces in nano-dimensions in order to search for molecules.

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The mechanical devices in these chips are very small. With them we can detect very small

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forces that allow us to detect individual molecules.

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For this purpose, so-called nano-cantilevers, tiny needles a hundred times narrower than

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a hair, are coated with antibodies for the desired substance. When the antibody catches

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its target molecules, the nano-cantilever gets heavier, bends and triggers a signal.

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In theory it's possible to detect one single molecule, so the sensitivity is much higher

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than with the normal methods like optical ones, which need a higher quantity of molecules

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to be as accurate.

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In a clean room in the basement of the Microelectronics Institute, Baucels and his team are combining

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microelectronics with nanostructures. Their aim is to develop a portable and low-cost

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molecular detection tool by exploiting nano-physical effects like changes in surface tension and

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mass. Depending on the antibodies they use, the BioFinger system could be able to detect

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certain cancer cells much earlier than it is possible today.

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Together with research groups in Ireland and Switzerland, Baucels and his team are taking

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their idea further and further towards a detection system that would combine the capabilities

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of a whole analytical laboratory on a single chip.

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The advantage of this kind of technology is that the chips can have an electrical charge

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so that you can integrate them in mobile instruments which could be hand-held. That will allow

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us to have them in ambulances or first aid centres or hospitals.

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Futurists then travelled from Barcelona to south-western Germany, another European outpost

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on the frontier of this emerging science.

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At the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Technologies in St. Ingebert near Saarbrücken,

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a team of European researchers is using nanotechnology in another way to improve diagnostic capabilities.

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In the ADONIS project, nano-sized gold particles are used to detect prostate cancer cells at

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an early stage.

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The nanoparticles used in this project together with biological agents as a contrast medium.

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They are inserted into the body and bind to a tumour cell. Then they are detected by

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a new method of combining acoustic visualisation with a laser.

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Similar to the approach in Spain, the nanograins here are also covered with antibodies, this

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time with antibodies for tumour cells. The particles are then tracked down with a revolutionary

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approach using a sophisticated combination of sound waves and laser beams. When the laser

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heats up the nanogold particles inside the body, their acoustic pattern changes so that

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they can be detected.

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In a next step, this method could be expanded to detect other tumour types, not only for

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prostate cancer but also breast, liver or skin cancer. Further on, this application

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could be used in all cancer therapies.

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While first therapeutical trials with this nanomethod returned promising results, other

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microelectronic tools for therapy are already closer to practical use. Thomas Felten and

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his team at the IBMT have developed a tooth implant that is at the same time a reliable

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dosage system for medications. Combining a microchip with sensors and a microscopic dosage

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system, as well as a remote control, could be of great benefit for patients with chronic

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diseases. Implanted into the mouth, just like any artificial tooth, the system can monitor

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and meter the amount of a medication in order to keep its dosage in the body at an ideal

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prescribed level.

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Its advantage is that it is an intelligent system with microcontrollers and sensors,

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so that you can meter the amount of medication exactly and monitor the dosage as well as

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the time intervals when it has been dispensed.

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For the time being, these systems still work in macro dimensions, but scientists in the

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European Cellprom project envisage revolutionary breakthroughs in therapies, when nanodevices

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allow it to target specific areas and cells inside the body with nanoscale instruments.

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Back to Barcelona, the researchers there are also developing labs on a chip that could

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be used to detect molecules not only in medicine but also in environmental protection or in

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food safety. Measuring, for example, whether a fish is still fresh or already decaying

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can be done by detecting certain gases with nanomaterials, explains Luis Fonseca.

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These sensitive materials have to have a micrometric size, but also have to have a nanometric structure.

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It can be composed of nanoparticles or an amalgam of nanoparticles. Because of this

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it has a very high surface volume ratio, and so these materials are much more reactive.

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Micro and nanotechnologies promise to be key applications in medicine and the environment

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in the future, but their development is still only at the beginning. Treating diseases at

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a molecular level is still some way down the road, but researchers in Europe are developing

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the tools to make it possible one day, whilst also assessing the possible risks of these

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promising new technologies.