Magnetic Particle-Based Device Detects Avian Flu Virus

A miniaturized device has been developed that can be used to detect the highly pathogenic avian flu (H5N1) virus. If successfully commercialized, this device could be deployed in affected regions for pre-emptive surveillance of nascent avian flu epidemics.

The device comprises a unique platform that uses magnetic force to manipulate individual droplets containing silica-coated magnetic particles.

Avian influenza is now entrenched in Asia, with sporadic human infections resulting from either direct contact with infected birds or limited human-to-human transmission. Globalization and seasonal avian migration patterns have resulted in the disease spreading rapidly to other parts of the world. With sufficient early warning, a potential avian flu epidemic can be averted.

The device was developed by scientists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN; The Nanos, Singapore), Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB; Proteos, Singapore), the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS; Genome, Singapore) and was described in the September 2007 issue of the journal Nature Medicine. Project leader and lead author of the Nature Medicine publication, IBN scientist Dr Juergen Pipper, said, "With our device, medical or humanitarian aid workers would be able to detect the presence of the H5N1 virus directly from throat swab samples on-site in less than half an hour. The novelty of our method lies in the way that the droplet itself becomes a pump, valve, mixer, solid-phase extractor and real-time thermocycler. Complex biochemical tasks can thus be processed in a fashion similar to that of a traditional biological laboratory on a miniature scale.”

The unique lap-on-a-chip system developed by IBN can also be adapted for other infectious diseases such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and hepatitis B, by extracting nucleic acids from other body fluids such as blood, urine, or saliva.

"An increasing number of magnetic particle-based biochemical kits are commercially available to process cells, RNA, DNA, and proteins. We envision that our droplet-based system will be an attractive diagnostic platform, especially for decentralized environmental, biological, or medical testing,” said Dr. Pipper.


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Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology
Genome Institute of Singapore