Medical Design Briefs - February 2022 - 24

Alexandrov says the team experimented
with applications using common glucometer
technology to develop a cheap,
portable, and accurate device.
" Activated electrochemical biosensors
broke down glucose and generated
electrons as by-products
to produce
electrical current proportional to the
amount of captured target molecule, "
he says.
" The Clarkson team also demonstrated
the feasibility of multiplexing this
technology to detect two different biomarkers
at the same time. "
Despite experiment success, Alexandrov
says glucometer
technology was useNew
designer biosensors 'switch on' color or electrical responses to drugs used in cancer, arthritis,
and organ transplant treatment. (Credit: Queensland University of Technology)
which requires close monitoring to
reduce toxicity and organ damage.
Lead researcher Prof. Kirill Alexandrov
says the protein biosensors had potential
to expand patient care by enabling sophisticated
tests on cheaper lab equipment
and new point-of-care devices.
" Proteins are at the core of a $70 billion
global diagnostic market that relies
heavily on central lab processing, "
Alexandrov says.
" Our biosensor technology will enable
tests like therapeutic drug monitoring
on less sophisticated equipment that you
are more likely to find in small, regional,
or remote labs and hospitals. "
Future tests may also require smaller
biological samples with researchers
proving a biosensor could accurately
measure cyclosporine A levels in 1 µL
blood samples.
" With further development, the
biosensor technology could lead to a
fingerstick test that potentially provides
doctors with patient results in 3-5 minutes
during a standard consultation, "
Alexandrov says.
Alexandrov says protein complexity
and fragility made construction and use
of protein biosensors difficult, but the
modular design helped alleviate the
problem and could be adapted to potentially
target any small molecule - not
just therapeutic drugs.
He says the new proteins were produced
by engineered bacteria, altered using
recombinant DNA technology to produce
artificial switch molecules that were tailored
to recognize a particular drug.
" The protein biosensors are 'switched
off' - like an electrical circuit with a
missing piece. Only the targeted biochemical
in human fluids like blood or
saliva can complete the circuit and
'switch on' a signal proportional to the
amount of biomarker detected, " he says.
When activated, the different protein
biosensors produce either a change of
color for hue-based readings, or electrochemical
current.
specific, and researchers would need to
re-engineer devices and manufacturing
processes for new clinical uses.
" There are a huge number of parameters
to reconcile when building a medical
device. It's incredibly hard and that's
why new diagnostic technologies come
to the market very slowly, " Alexandrov
says.
Alexandrov is from the QUT Centre
for Genomics and Personalized Health,
the QUT Centre for Agriculture and the
Bioeconomy, and the QUT Faculty of
Science. He says future research would
focus on protein biosensor stability, sensitivity,
and manufacturability.
Studies validating different biosensor
designs have been published by Angewandte
Chemie and Nature Com munications. The
projects were supported with funding from
QUT; Australian Research Council (ARC)
Discovery Program; ARC Centre of
Excellence in Synthetic Biology; Australian
Government National Health and Medical
Research Council (NHMRC); Human
Frontiers Science Foundation (HFSF); and
the U.S. Department of Defense.
For more information, visit www.qut.edu.au.
How Virtual, Cloud-Based Technologies Are Powering
the Next Industrial Revolution
On-premises data centers
give way to virtual
solutions.
Grid Raster
Mountain View, CA
Companies in many industries,
including technology, construction, and
healthcare are completely revamping
24
Cov
the way in which their manufacturing
arms are designing, building, producing,
and servicing the goods they need
for projects and customers.
Just a short five years ago these manufacturers
began to embark on the second
coming of their own industrial revolution.
It wasn't enough that the
Internet and even mobile technology
created a wealth of efficiencies in the
production cycle.
www.medicaldesignbriefs.com
ToC
n Virtual Technologies Powering
the Next Industrial Revolution
Instead, these manufacturers began to
see how virtual technologies could completely
change the way they operated,
interacted with design teams, and provided
more timely response to customer
inquiries.
Gains in operations and customer
service as a result of virtual technologies
have been quick to illustrate early and
Medical Design Briefs, February 2022

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Medical Design Briefs - February 2022

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