London: A team of international researchers from the UK, US and Germany has created a new easy-to-use test that can more quickly diagnose non-communicable diseases such as heart attacks and cancer. The new test, called Crisprazyme, works by detecting molecular signals in the body called biomarkers, which are already used in things like COVID-19 testing where the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 gene indicates COVID.
There are also biomarkers for nonmalignant diseases: for example, prostate specific antigen (PSA) in the blood can sometimes serve as a biomarker to indicate the presence of prostate cancer.
Diagnostic tests based on RNA or DNA often require controlled temperature and involve several steps. The new test can be used at room temperature in a user-friendly process.
The researchers hope this could enable quick and easy diagnosis in settings such as GP surgery, as well as in resource-limited clinics in developing countries.
“As well as increasing access to diagnostics in developing countries, this technology could bring us closer to personalized diagnosis at home or in GP surgery,” said Dr Marta Brotto, Imperial University’s Department of Materials.
He added, “By simplifying clinical diagnostic tests, we will be able to provide clinicians with the right tools to perform tests at the same GP surgery, rather than reschedule them for follow-up analysis and blood tests. “
CrisprZyme builds on CRISPR diagnostic tests, which use RNA, the messenger that helps make proteins, to detect biomarkers in biological fluids such as blood or urine.
CrisprZyme improves the technology by replacing the amplification process with colorimetric analysis – a method that quantifies biomarkers present without the need for amplification.
This eliminates the need for temperature control and additional steps, and can also tell how much of a biomarker is present in a sample, the team explained in the paper published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
Professor Molly Stevens FRS FRNG, from Imperial’s Departments of Materials and Bioengineering, said, “Following further development and testing in the laboratory, we hope this can help move us one step closer to personalized medicine that allows treatments to be specifically designed and developed.” tailored to the needs of the patients.” ,