Scientists at IBM have developed a lab-on-a-chip technology called nanoDLD that may help physicians detect diseases like cancer before the symptoms are visible. For the first time, its able to separate biological particles at the nanoscale level.
"Our lab-on-a-chip technology can give physicians a view into the origin of a cancer or if a cancer has metastasized, before physical symptoms appear in the patient," says Joshua Smith, researcher in the nanobiotechnology group at IBM, told HCB News.
IBM has partnered with a research team at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai to further develop this technology and eventually test it on prostate cancer patients.
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Separating a certain type of bioparticle like a prostate exosome from a complex biological mixture traditionally requires expensive equipment, a web lab environment and trained technicians.
"Our lab-on-a-chip technology has opened the door to on-chip separation and purification at a scale that circumvents some of these previous requirements, enabling the possibility of cheap, load-and-go preparation," said Smith.
Once the particles are separated, physicians can analyze them to see if there are signs of disease. Exosomes, which are released in blood, saliva or urine, are increasingly being seen as useful biomarkers to diagnose or prognose malignant tumors.
"Traditionally, people considered exosomes as garbage cans of unwanted cellular material that were excreted by cells," says Smith. "In time, scientists have acknowledged that exosomes carry important genetic cargo such as DNA, RNA, surface proteins and other biomarkers that are transported between cells."
There are still many engineering challenges that need to be overcome in order to improve the efficiency and volume required to detect enough exosomes to determine what cargo they carry from cancer cells.
Eventually, the researchers hope to have a readout of different biomarkers found among the exosomes that a physician can interpret in the context of the health of the patient.
"We plan to immediately begin working with hospitals and researchers outside of IBM to help us develop and fine-tune the technology," says Smith. "Our collaboration with physicians and researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital will provide the initial proving ground for the technology."
