Biochemistry Department Makes Strides in Diagnostic Testing

This month the Journal of the American Chemical Society published findings by chemistry and biochemistry professor Kevin W. Plaxco and his team of researchers that have led to the design of quick and inexpensive medical tests used for the detection of human disease.

The diagnostic tests are based on models in nature and can easily detect antibodies found in a number of human diseases such as autoimmune diseases, sexually transmitted diseases and allergies through a microscopic DNA part. The tests are more convenient and affordable than current ones and can therefore potentially allow for earlier treatment. Treatments administered earlier on in disease development may significantly reduce effects or terminate the pathogen itself.

Plaxco said current tests are not necessary faulty in their accuracy but fail to reveal the presence of diseases soon enough, particularly in the case of sexually transmitted diseases.

Patients typically must wait for days or even weeks to receive the results of most STD tests The blood sample has to be transported to the lab, its content analyzed by trained personnel, and the results sent back to the doctors office, Plaxco said in a press release. If we can move testing to the point of care, it eliminates the lag between testing and treatment, which would enhance the effectiveness of medical interventions and for infectious diseases like STDs reduce transmission.

Co-author and post-doctoral scholar Alexis Valle-Blisle said the tests use of natural occurrences and bioengineering is what gives them their revolutionary efficiency and speed.

All creatures, from bacteria to humans, monitor their environments using amazing molecular nanoswitches that signal the presence of a specific target by changing their structure, Valle-Blisle said in a press release. For example, on the surface of our cells, there are millions of receptor proteins that detect various molecules by switching from an off state to an on state. The beauty of these switches is that they are able to work directly in very complex environments such as whole blood.

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