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Revision as of 16:09, 18 September 2015
The DiaCHIP - A Versatile Detection System
Project Motivation
Serological tests are a key element in modern medicine. Especially for detection and identification of infectious diseases, performing several blood tests is inevitable. Testing for more than one disease at a time or diagnosing a patient with diffuse symptoms usually requires more than one serological test. Every single test that is performed increases the time of waiting for a result as well as the bill. In case of dangerous infectious diseases every minute until the onset of the appropriate treatment is important for survival. What if there was a possibility to combine all this testing in one single chip which is affordable for everyone?
Detecting Antigen-Antibody Interactions
The DiaCHIP is an innovative tool to screen for a broad range of antibodies present in serum. Antibodies serve as indicator for an immune response towards an infectious disease or a successful vaccination. They also play an important role in the diagnosis of autoimmune diseases. Identifying diseases by detecting disease associated antibodies in a patient's serum is an established method in modern diagnostics.
Based on the very same principle, the DiaCHIP enables to simultaneously screen for multiple diseases at a time, thereby reducing time and costs of a diagnosis. Especially the ability to differentiate between life threatening diseases and mild infections within a short time bears the potential to save lifes.
The Concept
The key feature of the DiaCHIP concept is the combination of on-demand protein synthesis of disease related antigens and a novel method for label-free detection - all this packed into one device. The idea is to overcome challenges commonly found in protein array production and preservation. In addition, results can be obtained in a time- and cost-efficient manner; with a device simple enough to be rebuilt by future iGEM teams.
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Outlook
Our results provide a proof of concept that the functional priciple of the DiaCHIP is suitable for antibody detection in complex samples. Although further improvements have to be done in terms of reliablitiy and quantification, various additional applications are conceivable. Representing a way to reduce time and cost required for testing a single patient, the DiaCHIP holds the potential to enhance and enlighten future diagnostics.
Cell-Free Expression
A key feature of the DiaCHIP is the capability to produce protein arrays on demand via cell-free expression. To reduce the cost of a DiaCHIP measurement, we produced a cell-free expression system based on an E. coli lysate ourselves. This system is also capable of expressing immobilized DNA sequences. See how this sensitive system was established and optimized.
