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Micro- and nano-technologies are revolutionising medicine
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Micro- and Nanotechnology are revolutionising medicine. ‘Almost invisible’ tools are being developed by European researchers to discover diseases earlier and to treat patients better. At the same time the miniaturisation of instruments to micro- and nano-dimensions promises to make our future lives safer and cleaner. In Barcelona, Spain, a leading European research group (Centro Nacional de Microelectrónica in Bellaterra) is developing a low-cost molecular detection tool: the “Biofinger". The tiny chips can detect a huge variety of substances, from cancer cells to chemical ingredients. The revolutionary idea is to use physical forces in nano-dimensions in order to search for molecules. A team of European researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Technologies institute near Saarbruecken is using nanotechnology to improve diagnostic capabilities. In the “Adonis”-project, nano-sized gold particles are used to detect prostate cancer cells at an early stage.
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.
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- Idioma/s:
- Niveles educativos:
- ▼ Mostrar / ocultar niveles
- Nivel Intermedio
- Autor/es:
- The European Union
- Subido por:
- EducaMadrid
- Licencia:
- Reconocimiento - No comercial - Sin obra derivada
- Visualizaciones:
- 588
- Fecha:
- 6 de agosto de 2007 - 9:36
- Visibilidad:
- Público
- Enlace Relacionado:
- European Commission
- Duración:
- 07′ 47″
- Relación de aspecto:
- 4:3 Hasta 2009 fue el estándar utilizado en la televisión PAL; muchas pantallas de ordenador y televisores usan este estándar, erróneamente llamado cuadrado, cuando en la realidad es rectangular o wide.
- Resolución:
- 448x336 píxeles
- Tamaño:
- 39.46 MBytes
