Nanotech Cancer Detector
13 May 2007Among the winners of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s NanoNexus 2007 conference was a prototype for a cancer detection device using Nanotechnology. The proposed plan, under development for two years, won third place in the competition.
The genius of this Nanotechnology-based cancer detector is that it can be built from off the shelf components, and works by detecting the presence of cancerous biomarkers—proteins that can indicate the existence of cancerous tumors in the body. Designers of the proposed plan had to demonstrate not only how it would work, but how it could feasibly be turned into a commercial product. With business plan in hand, the two designers, Vanderbilt graduate student Chinmay Soman and biomedical engineering graduate student Ashwath Jayagopal received 3rd place and a check for $2,500.
The device is called Quantum Dot Enabled Multiplexed Antigen Profiling (QuaD-MAP) system. Behind the long name is a simple explanation. A combination of quantum dots and antibodies attach to the biological marker. If the biological marker is not present, however, the quantum dots will not aggregate and thus remain undetectable. This is a unique method of protein detection, for which the inventors have already applied for a patent.
In the future, using this Nanotechnology device, it might be possible to go to the doctor for a checkup. He would check to see if the protein markers are present, and if so, determine that cancer is likewise present and recommend the appropriate treatment. Right now the device is expensive in its development stage but the designers believe that eventually its cost to market will be greatly reduced after further refinement.
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