Search Results - diagnostic+technology

                                            

This invention provides economical, bio-interactive surfaces and surface treatment methods for selective capture of targeted epithelial cells or other cell types from cell mixtures or complex biological fluids. Preparation or fabrication of the engineered surfaces provided by this technology does not require the use of expensive and unstable biomolecular materials, and the resulting surfaces can distinguish different cell types or cells that express different levels of the same surface adhesion marker. Such engineered surfaces can be used as economical tools for assessment of cancer risk, cancer diagnosis, and tracking of the effectiveness of cancer treatments, among other potential applications.

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This invention provides miniaturized and portable biosensing devices that employ novel spectrally-filtered photodiode pairs and on-chip ratiometric sensing. The biosensing devices allow for rapid, high-precision detection of biomolecules of interest, and can be used for point-of-care and therapeutic screening applications.

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An ill-fitting prosthesis can result in discomfort and can compromise mobility and performance. Therefore, there is a strong need for innovative diagnostic tools for quantifying the socket-limb interface during the fitment process. Scientists at UMass Amherst have developed a prosthetic socket fitment tool which applies recently-available high-precision line-of-sight ultrasound transceivers and intuitive visualization software to provide a quantifiable internal measurement of the residual limb and bone movement to a prosthetist during the fitment process. This tool will inform the positioning of socket components to ensure a comfortable fit for the patient.

Protein nanopores have been used to detect small molecule analytes by monitoring changes in ionic current upon analyte binding in the nanopore lumen. The fixed inner diameter of the nanopore lumen, however, presents challenges for detection of proteins and other large bioanalytes. This invention provides a new class of protein nanopore sensors capable of detecting large bioanalytes without the need for such bioanalytes to enter the nanopore lumen. The nanopore is genetically engineered or chemically modified to contain a target-binding ligand in a flexible loop region at one end of the nanopore lumen. The dynamic movement of the flexible loop creates a distinct grating pattern when ionic current passes through the nanopore lumen. The nanopore-target analyte Interactions outside the pore lumen result in an instantaneous change in the gating pattern of the flexible loop, enabling rapid detection of the target analyte. This invention not only provides the ability to distinguish between protein homologues within an analyte mixture but also allows for the detection of target proteins in the presence of serum.

A team of innovative polymer scientists lead by Dr. Gregory N. Tew at University of Massachusetts Amherst has designed and developed a new class of synthetic polymers, called protein transduction domain mimics (PTDMs), for applications in pharmaceutical delivery and disease diagnosis. These novel polymers are synthetic mimics of protein transduction domains (PTDs), and are designed to mimic and improve the biological activity of PTDs. They can be readily synthesized and transport across lipid bilayers with efficiencies significantly better than their natural peptide analogs. Their rich chemical diversity and structural tunability allow for highly efficient delivery of many different cargos, such as DNA, siRNA and proteins, into a variety of cells.