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Handheld "DNA Photocopier" for Fast Detection of Ebola & Zika

A new technique raises the possibility of a 'DNA photocopier' small enough to hold in your hand that could identify the bacteria or virus causing an infection before symptoms appear. Vanderbilt University researchers created the method for controlling a powerful but finicky process called the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR can make billions of identical copies of small segments of DNA so they can be used in molecular and genetic analyses. Biomedical engineers Nicholas Adams and Frederick Haselton came up with an out-of-the-box idea, which they call adaptive PCR, that uses left-handed DNA (L-DNA) to monitor and control the molecular reactions that take place in the PCR process. A small sample in the center of the device is illuminated by an ultraviolet laser on the right and varying levels of fluorescence are detected by the spectrophotometer on the left and are used to control the DNA duplication process.

Topics:
Detectors Diagnostics Measuring Instruments Medical Photonics Sensors Test & Measurement

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    Transcript

    00:00:02 [Music] it's not easy to identify Ebola and zika infections out here miles from hospitals and sophisticated Labs scientists need DNA biomarkers from blood saliva and urine to diagnose disease and that procedure can be complicated Vanderbilt researchers have found a new way to do that this kind of thing I think will help clearly can help

    00:00:30 a lot of people I believe their unique technique lights up or flues DNA samples as they are processing the flashing lights we see are at sampling when it goes dark in between it's actually taking a reading it does this continuously the computer display shows their unique approach using synthetic DNA to control the process and the device can look for

    00:00:55 several diseases at once collect one sample and you can look for like Ebola area dang fever and and you can monitor each on different fluorescent channels the new device could also be used in developed countries for things like zika diagnosis if you were very worried about your pregnancy if you could do a simple kind of test and see if you had zika without

    00:01:20 having to wait a week for your results to come back from the central laboratory it could be used for more than disease detection forensics is one example example food safety is another one biot terrorism applications all kinds of stuff this technology is a way to do it if you can bring the technology to the field it' be much more effective the researchers plan to make their desktop

    00:01:44 device even more portable we think we can make a machine that you can put in your hand that looks kind of like a big iPhone or something like that their hope is that the device will be diagnosing illness in the field far from a hospital in the next few years in Nashville Barb Kramer reporting [Applause]