Smart biosensor to predict risk of heart ailments

Cheaper, quicker tool uses just a drop of blood to give instant result; MNNIT experts file patent

A SINGLE DROP OF BLOOD WILL HELP DELIVER RESULTS INSTANTLY AND HELP YOUR DOCTOR TO INITIATE STEPS TO PROTECT YOU

ALLAHABAD: The long wait to know the results of costly and complicated tests for heart problems may soon be a thing of the past.

Now, a single drop of blood will help deliver results instantly and help your doctor to initiate steps to protect you. This has been made possible by a new state-of-the-art biosensor invented by the experts of Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (MNNIT), Allahabad.

The electro-chemical biosensor analyses blood drop sample and detects as well as measures tiny platelet-derived micro-particles (PMPs), a major risk factor for platelet hyperactivity that plays a lead role in cardiovascular diseases like acute myocardial infarction and stroke.

Cheaper, quicker and scalable, this indigenously built sensor could be the ideal answer for India where, as per a recent WHO report, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are predicted to be the biggest cause of death and disability by 2020.

The inventors, including MNNIT director and noted electronics expert P Chakrabarti, assistant professor in biotechnology department Sunil Kumar Singh and research scholar Priti Singh, have already filed patent for their creation.

They are now developing a portable kit of the biosensor that would help in predicting heart ailments on the bedsides or even homes. Publication of the invention in an international journal is also on cards.

“We have made a dye doped electro-chemical biosensor, based on a special material, for detection of PMPs (platelet-derived micro-particles) which are a major risk factor for platelet hyperactivity that plays a key role in cardiovascular diseases. The biosensor is cheap, quick and accurate,” shared P Chakrabarti. Co-inventor Sunil Kumar Singh said that unlike bulky and costly instruments present today to predict heart diseases, the new invention would be perfect for a developing country like India and help protect countless lives.

“The fact that unlike today’s gadgets and tests which use dyes making them costlier, the electro-chemical biosensor offers a specific, sensitive, label-free, cost-effective, qualitative and quantitative tool for rapid detection of platelet hyperactivity on the bedside,” he added. Singh has been conferred with Young Scientist Platinum Jubilee Award-2015 by the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI), Allahabad.