The biomedical engineer Melanys Benítez Pérez (Havana, 1993) has developed a New sensor that allows detect biomarkersthat is, molecules present in the human body that indicate diseases or alterations in the bodyas substances of interest for food control.
According to the author, it is a economic, accurate and easier tool to manufacturewhich could be applied in fields such as medicine, biotechnology or food industry. The device has been designed within the framework of its doctoral thesis, defended in the Public University of Navarra (UPNA).
With this biosensor, “biomarkers relevant to health” can be detected, in the words of the researcher. For example, anti -ig, used in immunological tests; anti-giadin, marker related to celiac disease; VEGF, a protein associated with the development of tumors and cardiovascular diseases; and IL-6, linked to inflammatory processes and neurodegenerative diseases.
In addition, gliadin has been detected, one of the main gluten proteinswhich opens applications in food security control, ”adds Melanys Benítez.
The new biosensor It works with light. Specifically, it uses an optical phenomenon known as resonance of loss way (LMR).
This effect allows to detect alterations in a liquid sample (such as blood, saliva or a portion of a food) when observing how light behavior varies by crossing it. Thus, information about what happens at the microscopic level is obtained.
According to his LinkedIn profileBenítez worked at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology of Havana after training at the “José Antonio Echeverría” Technological University, Cujae.
A flat surface sensor
Until now, biosensors who used this technology They were manufactured on cylindrical optical fibersthin filaments where the light circulates.
However, these structures are fragile and difficult to manipulate and integrate into other systems. As a novelty, the sensor developed in the UPNA by Melanys Benítez has been designed and tested on a flat surface, which “simplifies its manufacture and reduces costs, without losing efficacy,” according to its author.
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The device also incorporates a microfluid platform, which uses tiny channels to circulate small amounts of liquid. This technology allows you to accurately analyze a minimum amount of sample, such as a drop of blood or an extract of a food.
Gold nanoparticles
To improve sensor sensitivity, lInvestigator has incorporated gold nanoparticleswhich intensify the interaction of the light with the sample and allow to detect very low concentrations of the substances sought. Thanks to this innovation, the sensor reaches detection levels much higher than usual in this type of devices.
“The results obtained demonstrate the versatility and effectiveness of this new platform, which opens the door to its application in fields such as medicine, biotechnology and food industry,” summarizes the author of the doctoral thesis, which has been directed by two researchers from the Smart Cities Institute (ISC) of the UPNA: Ignacio R. Matías Master Master and the Professor Matías Maestro and the Professor ABI Leránoz.
EFE/ONCUBA.
