Re: Microchips capable of detecting and diagnosing disseases

On 17/12/2024 3:26 pm, Jan Panteltje wrote:

Microchips capable of detecting and diagnosing diseases
  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241216184736.htm
Source:
  NYU Tandon School of Engineering
Summary:
  Researchers have developed microchips using field-effect transistors
  that can detect multiple diseases from a single air sample with high
  sensitivity.
  The technology enables rapid testing and could lead to portable diagnostic
  devices for home and medical use.

This is misleading write-up. What they seem to be talking about is sticking individual monoclonal antibody molecules onto a molecule-sized FET gate, and detecting the change in gate voltage after the antibody has latched onto molecule to which it is a specific antibody.
One transistor can only detect one sort of disease molecule, so if you want to detect multiple diseases you need at least one transistor per disease.
If you want to use the detector more than once, you have to be able to get the antibody to unlatch from the molecule that it has detected and revert to a state where it can detect another.
The IASys biosensor unit that I worked on used a disposable sensor to get around this. We shone a laser at it to find out if the monoclonal antibody had latched its target molecule. We didn't have to throw out the laser with the sensor. The FET gate is a bit closer to the monoclonal antibody.
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Bill Sloman, Sydney