Gold nanosensors can be implanted in the body to continuously monitor for blood clots and trace proteins

The ability of blood to clot is essential for our well being; however, blood clots, called thrombosis, that float freely in the blood steam can be deadly if they block a blood vessel. “In the UK alone, blood clots claim 25,000 lives a year.” Currently, the blood clots can be tested for with fluorescent tagging, but the test is expensive, time consuming, and inaccurate.

These new gold nanosensors offer a solution to this problem. The sensor is made of a silica core that is approximately 120 nanometers in diameter covered in gold nanoparticles with aptamers on the outside. Aptamers are “strands of nucleic acids that bind to specific molecules.” These nanosensors harmlessly flow through the bloodstream in search of the biomarker thrombin. When the aptamers detect this marker, they bind to it causing a change in its own composition. Physicians can tell if clots are present by shining a laser on the sensors, the gold amplifies the signal from the aptamers so that the doctors can detect it. The aptamers admit different spectrums if they have a protein bound to them. A large advantage of the nanosensors is that they can remain in the bloodstream to provide continuous monitoring.

I found this article interesting because clot formation due to turbulent blood flow was a concern in both of our device design projects. This research is also fascinating because there are numerous other uses for these sensors such as virus detection.

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-04/gold-nanosensors-continuously-monitor-blood-clots