Wednesday, 17th May 2006 (4419 views)

A handheld genetic testing system that uses gold nanotechnology to deliver results more quickly and cheaply than current alternatives could be marketed commercially by the end of the year, following successful hospital trials.

Nanosphere, a US nanotechnology-based molecular diagnostics company, has announced $57million investment from a consortium led by Bain Capital LLC, which will go towards the launch of the company's Verigene system.

Nanosphere's technology identifies unique genetic fingerprints from samples of DNA, combining the use of electrodes and gold nanoparticle probes. Preliminary comments on the technique in 2003 estimated that the procedure could be 10 times more sensitive and 100,000 times more selective than alternatives currently in use.

Present techniques depend on a polyamerase chain reaction (PCR), which splits DNA into single strands in order to copy the makeup almost exactly.

Gold nanoparticles have also been found to reduce errors or mismatches significantly in the current copying process of a PCR, even with very small samples.

Performing this kind of test usually requires results to be sent away to a laboratory for analysis, however, which could mean a delay in diagnosis.

Bill Moffitt, chief executive of Nanosphere, said that the Verigene system was "such a simple operation that it will push genetic testing into every hospital," enabling each test to be performed at a cost of less than $100.

As well as disease diagnosis, the technology also has the potential to be used in identifying biological weapons.

 

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