"Laboratory on a chip" from IBM
provides early diagnosis of cancer and other diseases
IBM Company, Geektimes
Specialists of our company have created a "laboratory on a chip", which provides an opportunity to determine the presence of a number of diseases even before the symptoms of these diseases appear. This microsystem still exists as a working prototype, but in the future IBM will develop a single silicon chip with built-in tools for analyzing a number of diseases, including cancer. Our experts are confident that such a chip can replace a standard biochemical laboratory.
The "laboratory on a chip" can filter particles up to 20 nm in diameter. These are a number of viruses, exosomes, DNA. The analysis of filtered particles allows specialists to learn about the presence of markers of certain diseases (not only cancer). At this time, the treatment of even the most complex diseases becomes the most effective. Previously, a number of methods made it possible to filter particles of much larger size — for example, cancer cells.
In the near future, our specialists plan to test the effectiveness of the technique in the diagnosis of the most common cancer among men — prostate cancer.
The microsystem chip contains an asymmetric array of rods (nano-DLD), which act as a filter. Thanks to them, objects with a size of 20 nanometers are delayed. A positive point is that the rods separate the particle flows according to their size.
The size of the chip is 2X2 cm, but this, as mentioned above, is only a prototype. In the near future, it is planned to further increase the density of the chip components with an increase in the efficiency of the miniature laboratory. The total flow of particles is not delayed at the same time. In the near future, the authors of the project are going to expand the number of particles with which the "laboratory on a chip" can work.
The most important elements from the point of view of diagnostics are exosomes. The problem with modern analysis systems is that exosomes are too small to study. And the IBM chip can filter particles from 20 nm in size, which just coincides with the lower limit of the size of exosomes. These elements allow you to get information about the cell from which they were extracted. They store information about the cell, which allows you to find out the presence and degree of development of a number of diseases. Thus, exosomes act as cancer biomarkers.
Gustavo Stolovitsky, a participant in the project to create a "laboratory on a chip", claims that such techniques can not only help to carry out early diagnosis of cancer, but also to understand the nature of diseases such as viral infections. This is the Zika virus, the flu, and many other diseases. At the same time, chip-based diagnostic methods can be non-invasive, they can be used even at home.
Experts note that if the disease was detected at an early stage, then in most cases it is possible to cope with the disease (of course, it all depends on the type of disease). And IBM's "laboratory on a chip" may well become one of the most effective methods of early diagnosis of diseases. The ability to isolate exosomes allows them to be used as biomarkers. This method helps not only to identify the disease, but also to understand which method is best to choose for treatment.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru 02.09.2016