Bouquet of diseases: pansies-shaped sensors diagnose dementia
Russian scientists have developed a technology for automatically selecting the most suitable natural surface, such as flower petals or fish scales, for particularly sensitive diagnostic indicators. Experts have already created sensors with its help that repeat the structure of pansies. Studies have shown that a synthetic substrate copying these flowers will be the best way to capture red blood cells from the blood for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, hypertension and diabetes. In the future, in this way, it is possible to create tools for detecting any pathologies. According to experts, the technique can be extremely effective.
Pansies-shaped sensors
MIPT specialists have developed a technology that allows you to automatically evaluate the properties of various natural surfaces and thus select the most suitable ones to solve the desired problem. Scientists have already managed to create an artificial substrate for the sensor, which mimics the structure of the petals of pansies. Due to this structure, the nature-like material captures red blood cells well from the blood for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, as well as for the detection of hypertension and diabetes mellitus in the early stages.
— The unique topography of the replica pansies creates the perfect trap for the red blood cell. The cell is gently fixed, and the signal is amplified 2-7 times compared to other patterns. We have reached the level of sensitivity necessary for the transition to real clinical applications," said Sergey Novikov, head of the Laboratory of Controlled Optical Nanostructures at the Center for Photonics and Two—Dimensional Materials at MIPT.
Work in the laboratory at the Romanov spectrometer
Modern technologies make it possible to detect the slightest biochemical changes in individual cells, which opens up new possibilities for the diagnosis of serious diseases. One of the most effective methods is giant raman spectroscopy (SERS). It creates a unique "molecular fingerprint" of the cell without destroying it. However, the sensors that currently exist that can "catch" the cells needed for this study in the blood are either too expensive to produce or do not effectively retain the material.
The proposed method allows you to purposefully choose the most suitable natural surfaces. To do this, MIPT has developed a unique algorithm that quantifies the complexity of a surface using a special "difficulty coefficient." The higher it is, the better the result. This makes it possible to predict how well a particular structure will hold a certain type of cell.
— We have moved from intuitive selection to an accurate mathematical description of natural structures. Our algorithm allows us to rationally choose the ideal template for a specific task, whether it's a blood test or a tissue biopsy," said Maria Barshutina, senior researcher at the Center for Photonics and Two—Dimensional Materials at MIPT.
The first author of the article is Maria Barshutina, Senior Researcher at the Center for Photonics and Two-Dimensional Materials at MIPT
After analyzing various plants using the new method, the scientists found that the petals of the pansy plant (viola tricolor) have a unique multi-level architecture: they combine nanoscale complexity, which reliably fixes the cell, and semi-enclosed microscopic cavities 8-10 micrometers in size, corresponding to the size of a red blood cell.
Promising technology
The new technology is economically beneficial, as it simplifies the creation of diagnostic materials. It does not require expensive equipment, which significantly reduces the cost of sensors. In particular, such surfaces can be used in portable systems for rapid blood analysis. The versatility of the method makes it possible to adapt it to any cell type. In this way, you can find suitable surfaces in nature for any task. It is possible to analyze not only plant tissues, but also animal origin.
Biotechnologies are very often based on copying what already exists in one form or another in nature, that is, a technique developed by life itself, said Mikhail Bolkov, a researcher at the Russian State Scientific and Clinical Center of the Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.
— Here, scientists were able to create an effective algorithm for selecting the desired similarity that exists in nature, which significantly speeds up and reduces the cost of developing new technologies. In this case, the creation of sensors for cells is a very wide—ranging method, let's hope that its further implementation in practice will not take long," he said.
Casts of different petals coated with Au/SiO2/Au structure
Natural surfaces should be better suited for interacting with living cells than mechanical ones. However, it is not entirely clear why the developers preferred plant structures to animal structures, said Maria Vedunova, director of the Institute of Biology and Biomedicine at the National Research Nizhny Novgorod Lobachevsky State University.
— There is homology in all living systems, but this does not mean that the cells of the human body should be matched among plants. It's more logical to select them from animal structures," she said.
There are not many domestic developments on the market of biochemical sensors yet, so such projects can only be welcomed, says Evgeny Alexandrov, director of the NTI Center for Digital Materials Science: New Materials and Substances at Bauman Moscow State Technical University. In his opinion, such sensors and biomarker technologies will make the diagnosis of diseases faster, more accurate and cheaper.
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