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New device for more efficient gluten detection

About 1% of the world’s population suffers from celiac disease, a complex and autoimmune disorder caused by ingestion of gluten and for which there is no treatment beyond its elimination from the diet. In Spain every May 27, the National Celiac Day is commemorated to publicize the disease and give visibility and support to people with celiac disease.

The detection of gluten becomes a key element for celiac patients to control the disease, as well as for the food industry, whose regulation requires declaring its presence in food. In this line, a team of researchers coordinated by the professor of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) and scientific director of the CIBER of Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Ramón Martínez Máñez, are working on the development of intelligent methods for the gluten detection, to avoid the involuntary ingestion of this protein and also collaborate with the regulation and the fight against fraud in the food industry.

Recently published work in Analytica Chimica Acta presents a new system that enables rapid detection of gluten through a simple signaling process. As the authors state, it could be the basis for the development of portable, fast, sensitive and easy-to-use systems for the control of gluten in foods.

“The biosensor is composed of a nanoporous anodic alumina film loaded with a fluorescent dye and covered with an aptamer (DNA or RNA molecule) that specifically recognizes gliadin, which is the soluble protein of gluten” explains M. Carmen Martínez Bisbal, professor from the University of Valencia (UV) and researcher at the CIBER-BBN and the Interuniversity Institute for Research on Molecular Recognition and Technological Development (IDM UPV-UV) and one of the authors of the work. “In the presence of gliadin, the aptamer moves from the surface of the biosensor, resulting in the opening of the pores and the release of the signaling dye” adds Sara Santiago Felipe, researcher at the La Fe Health Research Institute, CIBER-BBN and the IDM UPV-UV and also author of the work.

The new sensor has been validated in real food samples, allowing the detection of gluten through a simple signaling process, with great potential for use in food control. “We have found that it has a detection limit of 100 µg kg-1 of gliadin, good selectivity and a detection time of 60 minutes,” explains Luis Pla, first signatory of the work and researcher at CIBER-BBN and IDM UPV-UV.

“Our results can be the basis for developing portable, simple, fast and sensitive systems for the detection of gluten, which can be easily adjusted through the use of different molecules, offering great potential for allergen testing” concludes the scientific director of the CIBER-BBN and NANBIOSIS Unit 26 Ramón Martínez Máñez.

Article of reference:

Luis Pla, M. Carmen Martínez-Bisbal, Elena Aznar, Félix Sancenón, Ramón Martínez-Máñez, Sara Santiago-Felipe, A fluorogenic capped mesoporous aptasensor for gluten detection, Analytica Chimica Acta, Volume 1147, 2021, Pages 178-186, ISSN 0003-2670, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2020.12.060

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A new biosensor will help for the early diagnosis of breast cancer

A team of Spanish researchers coordinated by the professor of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) and scientific director of the CIBER-BBN and NANBIOSIS unit 26, Ramón Martínez Máñez, and the Valencian oncologist, co-coordinator of the Research Group of Biology in Breast Cancer of the INCLIVA Health Research Institute, of the Hospital Clínico de València, Ana Lluch, also belonging to the CIBER de Cáncer (CIBERONC), has developed a prototype of a new biosensor to help detect breast cancer in its phases earlier. The work has been published in ACS Sensors magazine.

According to the latest data collected by the European Cancer Information System (ECIS), in 2020 a total of 34,088 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in Spain, this type of tumor being the most frequent among the women in our country.

Currently, mammography is the most widely used standard technique for diagnosis, but it has some limitations, such as radiation exposure, and lower sensitivity and specificity in young women with dense breast tissue. “For this reason, new diagnostic tools are necessary to help in the early detection of breast cancer. Our biosensor follows this line”, explains Ana Lluch.

The development of this prototype biosensor to aid diagnosis is part of the field of what is known as a liquid biopsy, which, through a blood test, helps detect the presence of cancer. In this case, the mesoporous biosensor developed by the UPV and INCLIVA team is simple to use, inexpensive and offers results in a very short time – between 30 and 60 minutes – from a patient plasma sample.

The biosensor is composed of a nanomaterial -a nanoporous alumina- that facilitates the detection in plasma of microRNA miR-99a-5p associated with breast cancer. Until now, this has been done with complex and time-consuming techniques, which means that they cannot be used as a diagnostic tool in the clinical setting.

Ramón Martínez Máñez explains how the alternative diagnostic system in which they work works: the nanopores of the biosensor are loaded with a dye -rhodamine B- and closed with an oligonucleotide. By interacting with the plasma sample, if it does not detect the presence of the microRNA, the pore doors remain closed; instead, in the presence of miR-99a-5p, those gates are opened and the dye is released. “The change in the release of the dye can be correlated with healthy patients or with breast cancer“, summarizes Martínez Máñez.

Researchers from the La Fe Health Research Institute (IIS La Fe) have also participated in the development of this biosensor, where tests have been carried out for the validation of the new biosensors, and the Cancer Network Biomedical Research Center (CIBERONC) .

“The next step in our work will consist of validation in a larger group of patients and continue working to make the detection system even more robust and easy to use,” conclude Juan Miguel Cejalvo, from the Cancer Biology Research Group of Mama from INCLIVA and Ramón Martínez Máñez.

Reference article:

Iris Garrido-Cano, Luis Pla, Sara Santiago-Felipe, Soraya Simón, Belen Ortega, Begoña Bermejo, Ana Lluch, Juan Miguel Cejalvo , Pilar Eroles, and Ramón Martínez-Máñez. Nanoporous Anodic Alumina-Based Sensor for miR-99a-5p Detection as an Effective Early Breast Cancer Diagnostic Tool ACS Sensors 2021 6 (3), 1022-1029 [DOI]

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Highly sensitive monoclonal antibodies for a new biosensor for hormones detection in fertility treatments

Nb4D research group and NANBIOSIS U2 Custom Antibody Service (CAbS) of CIBER-BBN at the IQAC-CSIC, together with the company Droplite Technologies have obtained a Retos-Collaboration project funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, for the development of a biosensor for detection and rapid quantification of hormones, linked to in-vitro fertility treatments.

NANBIOSIS U2 CAbS will be responsible for the production of highly sensitive monoclonal antibodies, counting on the experience in this field of Juan Pablo Salvador, project coordinator, Núria Pascual and Mª Pilar Marco.

The measurement of the hormone estradiol is a key indicator, both of maturity and of the degree of ovarian stimulation, very important in a successful fertilization process. But there are no tools that allow accurate and sensitive monitoring.

Thus, the consortium formed by Nb4D-Droplite proposes as a solution a new device to perform the control and quantification of hormones, in particular estradiol, in less than 30 minutes, without the need for a central laboratory and only using a drop of blood, which is obtained simply by pricking the patient’s finger.

With funding of € 388,531, the project strategy consists of a transversal collaboration between the Droplite company and the CIBER-BBN research center, through the Nb4D group, supported by the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, ​​which allows a continuous evaluation and optimization of the prototype based on the exchange of experiences and knowledge.

On the other hand, Droplite, led by its co-founders André Guedes and Rafael Porcar, contributes its experience in the development of an optical detection system based on nanotechnology, which will allow to detect and monitor, automatically and quantitatively, different markers and provide results in just 10 minutes. Droplite is dedicated to the biotechnology sector that emerged as a spin-off of the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO)

The call Retos Colaboración

The aid of this call, managed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the State Research Agency, aims to support experimental development projects in cooperation between companies and research organizations, in order to promote the development of new technologies, business application of new ideas and techniques, and contribute to the creation of new products and services.

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Laura Lechuga talks about CONVAT, the project for a faster and cheaper diagnose of COVID-19

Prof. Laura M. Lechuga, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS Unit 4 Biodeposition and Biodetection Unit (from CIBER-BBN and ICN2-CSCIC) has been today interview by Cadena Ser Radio in the program “Hoy por Hoy”

The interview can be listened in the following podcast, begining at 44 minute.

‘Convat’ is a nanotechnological device with biosensors capable of determining in less than half an hour the presence of coronavirus in a person. A sample saliva is deposited on a nanochip three centimeters long. If the saliva contains the virus, it will bind to antibodies located on the nanochip. A beam of light will be passed through the device so that the light will change if it encounters the virus and antibody in its path. The light will be analyzed automatically and the result will be transmitted to a smartphone or tablet. In less than 30 minutes a positive or negative result would be obtained and, in case of detecting the presence of the virus, in another 30 minutes at most the reconfirmation would be obtained. It is not intended for domestic use, but neither will a specialist technician be needed and it could be carried out in a massive way.

Simpler, cheaper and easier than current methods, this rapid diagnostic kit will not be ready for the first wave of the coronavirus, but it can be useful to detect it later if this virus is here to stay.

Yesterday, Laura Lechuga was also invited to explain the CONVAT project to the spanish television programe “A partir de hoy“.

‘Convat’, la prueba que puede detectar el coronavirus

https://twitter.com/FAQSTV3/status/1238968335192162306

Prof Laura Lechuga was also interviwed by TV3 in the program Planta Baixa 

More information here

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Photonic Label-Free Biosensors for Real-Time Analysis of Untreated Clinical and Environmental Samples

The biannual Conference on Bioanalytical Sensors will take place in June 24 – 29 in Newport,  US, with the theme “State-of-the-Art Bioanalytical Sensing Approaches for Healthcare and Therapeutics, Forensics, and Visualization of Living Systems”.

Prof. Laura M. Lechuga, Scientific Director of NANBIOSIS  U4. Biodeposition and Biodetection Unit: is giving a Conference on “Photonic label-free biosensors for real-time analysis of untreated clinical and environmental samples”

The focus of this meeting is on the development of new bioanalytical tools that provide highly specific and quantitative molecular data of biological systems leading to real applications to the clinic. Specific topics will include micro- and nanofluidics systems, nanomaterials, in vitro and in vivo sensing and imaging, while also covering instrumental techniques, and real world detection/diagnosis.

Further information and PROGRAM

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