Bench Press

A depiction of what the silicon nanowires look like. This array of nanowire detectors is able to detect single proteins in the bloodstream. Each nanowire corresponds to a different antibody. Credit: Vista Therapeutics

I can see it now. Season 43 of House M.D. House asks his team of fellows to determine the concentration of a certain protein in a patient’s bloodstream. Instead of taking multiple blood samples and performing several tests, including purifying the samples, marking the designated proteins, and using imaging technology to check for the labeled proteins, the fellows simply use special nanowire sensors to accomplish in five minutes what originally took 90 minutes. Although House may not be around for 43 seasons, the scene just described may be commonplace in hospitals all over the world. This ground-breaking technology is currently being researched by Vista Therapeutics, as they aim to provide the “ultimate sensitivity” with this new product.

Here is a description provided by the MIT Technology Review:

To make the detectors, Vista Therapeutics has licensed nanowire sensing technologies developed by Harvard University chemist Charles Lieber. Silicon nanowires, semiconducting wires as thin as two nanometers, have what Lieber calls the “ultimate sensitivity,” even with completely unprocessed samples such as blood. When a single protein binds to an antibody along the wire, the current flowing through the wire changes. Arrays of hundreds of nanowires, each designed to detect a different molecule in the same sample, can be arranged on tiny, inexpensive chips. The changes can be monitored continuously as molecules bind and unbind, making it possible to detect subtle trends over time, without requiring multiple blood draws.

The standard protein-detection technique, ELISA, is very sensitive but, Farr says, takes 90 minutes to perform. It starts with a blood draw that must be extensively processed–first to purify the proteins, then to label them with fluorescent dyes–and then tested with expensive imaging equipment in a hospital lab. “ELISA is a powerful technology for one-time measurements,” says Farr, “but there’s no existing technology for continuous biomarker measurement.”

With the ability to perform extremely precise, continuous monitoring of unprocessed blood samples, who knows what the future holds in store for nanowire detectors. You can be sure that I’ll be waiting for its debut on House.