Go Home!Links to more Nano informationAbout this siteA quick and easy map of the whole site

Bioassays

In medicine, bioassays are used to detect the presence of disease. This can be either infectious disease (such as viruses or bacteria) or genetic disease (such as cancer). The choice of biomolecule depends on the nature of the disease but can be a protein, DNA or RNA. All bioassays work by using the selective binding of one biological molecule (or biomolecule) to another (much in the same way as a key in a lock, or the teeth of a zip). Through linking the biomolecule with a nanoparticle, bioassays have become:

  • more sensitive (they can detect the presence of fewer target disease molecules and so detect disease much earlier in its development)
  • easier to perform (can be carried out quickly and without the need to purify samples taken from the patient)
  • able to detect more target biomolecules and so more diseases (or the effects of disease) at the same time by linking different biomolecules to different nanoparticles

Nanoparticles of different materials can be used, such as quantum dots (which are made from semiconductor materials) and can emit different colours of light depending on their size; gold which can be used in an electrical or colour changing test; and even nanoparticles made up of layers of different materials which give a “barcode” effect (these can be easily “read” using a microscope).