Experts developed a biosensor to count red blood cell, platelet, and white blood cell counts, and its 3-part differential at the point-of-care.
Better Understanding of Cancer-Spreading Enzymes Secreted by White Blood Cells
The enzyme MMP7 signals to cancer cells to become more aggressive when the enzyme cuts off specific proteins as it binds to those cancer cells.
The enzyme MMP7 signals to cancer cells to become more aggressive when the enzyme cuts off specific proteins as it binds to those cancer cells.
‘Scientists from the University of Illinois develop a biosensor capable of counting the blood cells electrically using only a drop of blood.’
The microfluidic device can electrically count the different types of blood cells based on their size and membrane properties. To count leukocyte and its differentials, red blood cells are selectively lysed and the remaining white blood cells were individually counted. The specific cells like neutrophils were counted using multi-frequency analysis, which probe the membrane properties of the cells. However, for red blood cells and platelets, 1 microL of whole blood is diluted with PBS on-chip and the cells are counted electrically. The total time for measurement is under 20 minutes. The report appears in the December 2015 issue of the journal TECHNOLOGY. "Our biosensor exhibits the potential to improve patient care in a spectrum of settings. One of the compelling is in resource-limited settings where laboratory tests are often inaccessible due to cost, poor prevalence of laboratory facilities, and the difficulty of follow-up upon receiving results that take days to process," says Professor Rashid Bashir of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Principal Investigator on the paper.
"There exists a huge potential to translate our biosensor commercially for blood cell counts applications," says Umer Hassan, Ph.D., the lead author on this paper. "The translation of our technology will result in minimal to no experience requirement for device operation. Even, patients can perform the test at the comfort of their home and share the results with their primary care physicians via electronic means too." "The technology is scalable and in future, we plan to apply it to many other potential applications in the areas of animal diagnostics, blood transfusion analysis, ER/ICU applications and blood cell counting for chemotherapy management" says Professor Bashir. The clinical trials of the biosensor are done in collaboration with Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana, IL.
Impact of High-Fat Diet on Red Blood Cells Promotes Cardiovascular Diseases
Evidence is emerging that RBCs play an important role in atherosclerosis development, binding pro-inflammatory proteins that cause dysfunction in the endothelium.
Evidence is emerging that RBCs play an important role in atherosclerosis development, binding pro-inflammatory proteins that cause dysfunction in the endothelium.
Source-Eurekalert
Here's How Malarial Parasite Finds Its Way Into Our Red Blood Cells
There is a protein on the surface of human red blood cells that serves as an essential entry point for invasion by the malaria parasite.
There is a protein on the surface of human red blood cells that serves as an essential entry point for invasion by the malaria parasite.
Researchers Discover Genomic Switches of Blood Cells That Regulate the Immune System
A team of researchers at the National Institutes of Health has discovered the genomic switches of a blood cell key to regulating the human immune system.
A team of researchers at the National Institutes of Health has discovered the genomic switches of a blood cell key to regulating the human immune system.
