• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
Friday, January 27, 2023
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

Gold leaf could help diagnose viral infections in low-resource settings

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
May 12, 2021
in Biology
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

IMAGE

Credit: Adapted from ACS Central Science 2021, DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.1c00186

Gold leaf — gold metal hammered into thin sheets — is used by artists and crafters to gild picture frames, artwork and clothing. Despite its luxurious appearance, the material is affordable and available at most craft stores. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have developed gold leaf electrodes that, in combination with a CRISPR-based assay, could sensitively detect human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in human samples. The method also could be modified to diagnose other viral infections.

Previous research indicates that about 80% of new cases of sexually transmitted infections, such as HPV and human immunodeficiency virus (known as HIV), take place in low-resource settings. In addition, over 90% of cervical cancer deaths, which are caused mainly by HPV, occur in these regions, according to the World Health Organization. But people in low-resource settings lack the facilities, trained personnel and money to conduct common diagnostic tests, including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or antibody detection. Therefore, Ariel Furst, Catherine Klapperich and colleagues wanted to develop a simple, affordable point-of-care test.

Using a sheet of 24K gold leaf, an adhesive, a stencil and a razor blade, the researchers made a three-electrode system that provided a readout in the presence of HPV DNA. On the surface of the electrodes, they attached DNA strands tagged with a dye. Then, they amplified DNA from cervical swab samples with a technique called loop-mediated isothermal amplification, which doesn’t require expensive PCR machines. They added the amplified DNA, along with a CRISPR Cas12a enzyme engineered to recognize an HPV sequence, to the surface of the electrode. In the presence of HPV DNA, Cas12a became activated, causing the enzyme to cut the dye-tagged DNA sequence, which changed the electrochemical signal. The assay, which costs only about $2.30 total per test (compared with $30-75 for existing tests), accurately detected HPV in cervical swabs from patients. The technology could be adapted to detect any viral infection, including SARS-CoV-2, the researchers say.

The authors acknowledge funding from the Dorf-Ebner Distinguished Faculty Fellow Award, the Boston University Precision Diagnostics Center, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation.

The paper with be freely available as an ACS AuthorChoice article on May 12 at 8 a.m. Eastern time here: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acscentsci.1c00186

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS’ mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and all its people. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact [email protected]

Follow us: Twitter | Facebook

###

Media Contact
Katie Cottingham
[email protected]

Tags: AIDS/HIVBiomedical/Environmental/Chemical EngineeringBiotechnologyChemistry/Physics/Materials SciencesDeveloping CountriesDiagnosticsGenesGeneticsVirology
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Motile Sperm and Frequent Abortions in Spreading Earthmoss

Motile sperm and frequent abortions in spreading earthmoss

January 27, 2023
Pictures of natural Physostegia chlorotic mottle virus (PhCMoV)-infected plants.

A transnational collaboration leads to the characterization of an emergent plant virus

January 26, 2023

Study shows that bioprinted artificial skin can be used in cosmetics and drugs testing

January 26, 2023

First report of rare cat discovered on Mt. Everest

January 26, 2023
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Jean du Terrail, Senior Machine Learning Scientist at Owkin

    Nature Medicine publishes breakthrough Owkin research on the first ever use of federated learning to train deep learning models on multiple hospitals’ histopathology data

    63 shares
    Share 25 Tweet 16
  • First made-in-Singapore antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) approved to enter clinical trials

    57 shares
    Share 23 Tweet 14
  • Metal-free batteries raise hope for more sustainable and economical grids

    41 shares
    Share 16 Tweet 10
  • One-pot reaction creates versatile building block for bioactive molecules

    37 shares
    Share 15 Tweet 9

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Study shows FDA-approved TB regimen may not work against the deadliest form of TB due to multidrug-resistant strains

Artificial intelligence used to predict space weather

Non-invasive neurotechnology reduces symptoms of insomnia and improves autonomic nervous system function

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 42 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In