Investigation of novel magnetic sensors in combination with magnetic particles towards the development of a point of care disease diagnostic platform

研究新型磁传感器与磁性颗粒相结合，以开发护理点疾病诊断平台

• 批准号: 2127097
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Cambridge
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2018 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2127097
• 关键词: Investigation; novel; magnetic; sensors; combination

Molecular diagnostics has emerged as a promising approach to the identification of illness through quantifying the presence of specific biomolecules, indicative of human disease. It is hypothesised that a platform capable of the rapid detection of a panel of biomarkers from a sample of bodily fluid will revolutionise healthcare, enabling quick and accurate diagnostics, disease staging, appropriate treatment prescription and the analysis of patient response to care. In collaboration with Hitachi, we aim to develop such a platform.To this end, we are working on the development of a novel magnetic sensor, capable of detecting with high accuracy, large numbers of magnetic nanoparticles. These particles, often referred to as bio-tags in this context, are chemically functionalised such that they attach to specific biomolecules when added to a sample of bodily fluid. Subsequent enumeration of the particles gives a measure of the concentration of the target biomolecule, and can be used to infer the presence, absence or stage of progression of the associated disease. During the initial stages of the project, various combinations of novel magnetic sensors and bio-tags were explored. Following much consideration, it was found that a novel Hall sensor in combination with ferrimagnetic nano-disks showed the most promise, and this architecture has been selected for extensive investigation. The ferrimagnetic nano-disks which are to be used as bio-tags are produced using novel fabrication techniques developed in the research group. Various techniques are employed to characterise the magnetic and physical properties of the particles. The central advantage of these particles over commercially available options is the tunability of their magnetic properties, which enables us to achieve a high level of control of their motion within a fluid. It is being investigated whether the positions at which the particles land on the sensor surface can be controlled, and whether the particles can be assembled in desirable ways, in order to maximise magnetic signal.Using a combination of finite difference simulations executed in Python, and COMSOL, the potential of the magnetic sensor to detect these particles is being investigated. The central aim of these simulations is to optimise various aspects of the sensor design, in order to maximise the detected signal of the magnetic nanoparticles and inform sensor fabrication.

分子诊断学已经成为一种有前途的方法，通过量化特定生物分子的存在来识别疾病，指示人类疾病。假设能够从体液样本中快速检测一组生物标志物的平台将彻底改变医疗保健，实现快速准确的诊断，疾病分期，适当的治疗处方和患者对护理的反应分析。我们与日立公司合作开发了这样一个平台。为此，我们正在开发一种新型的磁传感器，能够高精度地检测大量的磁性纳米颗粒。这些颗粒，在本文中通常称为生物标签，被化学官能化，使得它们在添加到体液样品中时附着到特定的生物分子。随后对颗粒的计数给出了靶生物分子浓度的量度，并且可以用于推断相关疾病的存在、不存在或进展阶段。在该项目的初始阶段，探索了新型磁传感器和生物标签的各种组合。经过大量的考虑，人们发现，一种新型的霍尔传感器与亚铁磁纳米盘相结合，显示出最有前途的，这种架构已被选择进行广泛的调查。使用该研究小组开发的新型制造技术生产了将用作生物标签的亚铁磁性纳米盘。采用各种技术来表征颗粒的磁性和物理性质。这些粒子相对于商业上可用的选项的核心优势是它们的磁性的可调谐性，这使我们能够实现对它们在流体中的运动的高水平控制。目前正在研究是否可以控制粒子落在传感器表面的位置，以及粒子是否可以以理想的方式组装，以最大限度地提高磁信号。使用Python和COMSOL执行的有限差分模拟组合，正在研究磁传感器检测这些粒子的潜力。这些模拟的主要目的是优化传感器设计的各个方面，以最大限度地提高磁性纳米颗粒的检测信号并为传感器制造提供信息。