Methods that can accurately and precisely measure biomolecules are essential in the developing field of precision medicine. In light of this, Associate Professor Yan Xu and his international research team at Osaka Metropolitan University’s Graduate School of Engineering have made significant progress in this direction.
They have created a novel nanofluidic device that can digitally detect single proteins at their naturally high concentrations by stochastically capturing them. The future of personalized disease prevention and treatment may be built upon this breakthrough.
The goal of precision medicine is to tailor strategies for prevention and treatment based on a person’s genetic information, environment, lifestyle, and other factors. The precise measurement of biomolecules within individual cells, such as genes and proteins, is essential to this. However, there haven’t been any tools that can simultaneously quantify biomolecules in high-concentration cellular environments and handle the tiny volume of a single cell’s contents—typically on the order of picoliters.
“Humans are complex organisms made up of a large number of cells. We hope that NANa, which digitizes information on the number of biomolecules in individual cells, will serve as a bridge between life science and information science in the future, paving the way for precision medicine.”
Associate Professor Yan Xu of the Graduate School of Engineering at Osaka Metropolitan University
The Nanofluidic Aptamer Nanoarray, or NANa for short, is a chip with nanochannels that allows for digital assaying of individual molecules in a sample with a volume that is smaller than that of a single cell. Utilizing manufactured antibodies known as aptamers, NANa can stochastically catch and carefully distinguish single particles of target proteins even inside high-fixation tests. The device’s nanochannels contain a dense array of these aptamers, which bind to specific molecules.
An illustration of NANa Credit: Yan Xu, Osaka Metropolitan University
In the future, the researchers intend to carry out hands-on demonstrations using actual cell samples, digitize the measurement data that is obtained, and investigate the possibility of combining AI-based image recognition technology with biological big data.
Professor Xu elaborated, “Humans are complex organisms consisting of a vast number of cells.” We hope that NANa, which digitizes information on the number of biomolecules in each cell, will act as a link between information science and life science, paving the way for future precision medicine.”
The findings of the study will soon be published in Small.
More information: Yan Xu et al, Nanofluidic aptamer nanoarray to enable stochastic capture of single proteins at normal concentrations, Small (2023). DOI: 10.1002/smll.202301013
