A photo from open sources
In the not-so-distant future, consumers using smartphones and other portable devices will be able to independently conduct tests for product safety, availability in environment of toxins, GMOs, pesticides and more.
Every person belonging to any developed nation on Earth, in regardless of where you live in rural or remote terrain in a big city or close to an industrial zone, now contains about 700 pollutants in its body, including pesticides, phthalates, benzenes, parabens, xylenes, and many other carcinogens and endocrine disruptors chemicals.
Every day the basics of our health are undermined by exposure astronomical level of toxins, and this process is controlled chemical terrorists of the food industry. Moreover, many of these toxins affect our fertility, and that subsequently for future generations.
It’s time for people to find out what exactly they are now made of. bodies, and in this technology they come to the rescue. Researchers from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign developed hardware and software which as a biological sensor for detection of toxins, proteins, bacteria, viruses and other particles uses the camera built into the phone and the phone’s capabilities data processing.
Professor Leading a Group of Researchers Electrical, Computer, and Bioengineering Sciences in Illinois Brian Cunningham expressed interest in developers the possibility of using biological recognition tests chemical elements in the home, outside the laboratory. “Smartphones gave a great impetus to the development of our society by proposing a new the method that we now use to obtain information and communication. In addition, they have a really powerful computing ability and opportunity
renderings. Mobile platforms such as telephones allow observe many non-invasive medical indicators (i.e., without direct effects on the body; approx. mixednews.ru) methods and much cheaper. They can detect microscopic particles such as pathogens, biomarkers of diseases or their DNA, then have to do what is currently being done only large diagnostic laboratories, is expensive and requires large blood volumes for analysis from the patient, “he said.
This is also indicated by specialist biotechnologist Dr. Marek Banazhevsky. He believes that modern biological research allows the use of various laboratory devices: from small computer chip to the determinant of biological information sequences within DNA. So bioinformative algorithms within the program will help identify transgenes, promoters (catalysts) and other functional elements of DNA, making it possible to identify genetically modified foods products directly on site, without transportation to the lab.
The portable device created by the Cunningham team consists of series of optical components – lenses and filters used in very large and very expensive laboratory devices. For example, it uses a telephone camera combined with optical components.
At the heart of the biosensor is a photonic crystal. Photonic a crystal is used as a mirror that reflects a light wave only one wavelength, and light waves of the spectrum with a different wavelength just go through it. When some biological an object appears in front of a photonic crystal, such as a protein, cells, pathogens or DNA, the reflected color will be laid out in length waves – from shorter to longer.
The whole test takes only a few minutes, software provision guides user actions step by step over the whole testing process. Although the test device contains optical components worth about $ 200, analysis he performs as accurately as a large laboratory spectrophotometer (optical system used for analysis of biological media by measuring the characteristics of light absorption with certain wavelengths and their spectral composition; approx.), worth 50 one thousand dollars. Portability of devices allows their use in field conditions among developing countries.
An article published by Lab on Chip contains information about that the research team demonstrated recognition protein immune system, but a similar mechanism may be used to recognize any type of biological molecule or cell type. Researchers working to improve bioassay process for use in additional
equipment for mobile devices iPhone and Android. They are hope to start manufacturing devices next year by making their accessible to users.
In addition, the Cunningham team is working on biosensitive tests that could be performed in the field to identify toxins in the harvest of corn and soybeans, as well as identify pathogens in food and water.
Scientists from Scientists from the Regensburg Research Institute Frauenhof’s modular solid technology also developed an extraordinary solution to the problem of detecting toxins – a glove, which recognizes the presence of toxins in the surrounding air.
Protective glove made from custom touch materials and determines the presence of toxic substances by changing color. In this case, the researchers accommodated materials in relation to the test substance, and accordingly adapted the application (smartphone). The color of the glove changes from colorless (when absence of toxins) to blue (when toxins are detected). Researchers Provide Other Possible Options the use of gloves in the food industry.
Other portable devices are currently at the stage of developments, for example compact chemical luminescent detectors, the principle of which is based on the reactions emitting light catalyzed enzymes. Chemical management fluorescent detectors provide devices that detect nucleic acids, biotin (vitamin H), which, in turn, linked to the target DNA. Such DNA detectors, principle of action which eliminates the use of radioactive reactions, will capable of chemically detecting a unique copy without difficulty genes in transgenic plants, isolating them in a convenient form for GMO testing.
DNA Time Smartphones
