Multiplexed Detection of Traumatic Brain Injury Biomarkers with An Optical Latera

描述：创伤性脑损伤（TBI）是一个主要的国家健康问题。在美国，每年至少有170万人患有TBI。每年有52，000名平民死于与TBI有关的伤害。目前，TBI的初步评估是基于对刺激/问题的反应或症状，如意识丧失和行为改变。然后将使用初始评估的结果来证明是否需要使用计算机断层扫描（CT）或磁共振成像（MRI）进行神经成像。目前的评估技术对轻度脑损伤的敏感性和特异性较低。此外，没有 体外诊断工具是商业上可获得的，以快速识别和区分中度和重度脑震荡。迫切需要开发一种即时护理（POC）设备，以在急诊科或诊所中快速确定是否发生了脑损伤及其严重程度。 该项目的目的是开发一种基于表面增强拉曼散射（Sers）的侧流装置，用于血液中TBI生物标志物的多重检测。拟议的设备能够测量三种最公认的TBI生物标志物，包括S-100、神经元特异性烯醇化酶（NSE）和胶质细胞酸性蛋白（GFAP）。在这种侧流装置中，三个Sers传感器与微流体模块集成在单个芯片上，这使得血浆从全血中分离，样品和试剂的运输以及传感测量成为可能。对于Sers传感器，通过纳米技术开发等离子体纳米结构以提高灵敏度。该便携式装置可以用作即时（POC）装置，用于直接测量血液中的多种TBI生物标志物，而不需要在生物标志物检测之前在集中实验室中对血液样品进行预处理。该设备可以提供早期TBI预后的数据，并指导额外的验证性测试。因此，它能够帮助在急诊室或诊所中快速筛查TBI患者。由该装置获得的数据也可用于指导TBI治疗。 拟议的研究是在纳米技术，材料科学，生物学和健康科学的接口。这个拟议项目的内在跨学科性质为在不同研究领域培训学生提供了机会。

DESCRIPTION: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major national health problem. Every year at least 1.7 million people suffer from TBI in the USA. 52,000 civilians die due to the TBI-related injuries every year. Currently, initial assessment of TBI is based on either the response to stimuli/questions or the symptoms such as losses of consciousness and altered behaviors. The outcome of initial assessment will then be used to justify the need of neuroimaging with computed tomography (CT) scanning or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The current assessment techniques have low sensitivity and specificity for mild brain injuries. In addition, no in vitro diagnostic tool is commercially available to rapidly identify and differentiate between mid and severe concussions. There is a critical need to develop a point-of-care (POC) device to rapidly determine if brain injury has happened and its severity in an emergency department or in a clinic. The objective of the project is to develop a lateral-flow device based on surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for multiplexed detection of TBI biomarkers in blood. The proposed device is able to measure three most recognized TBI biomarkers including S-100¿, neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). In this lateral flow device, three SERS sensors are integrated with the microfluidic modules on a single chip, which enables the plasma separation from whole blood, transportation of sample and reagents, and sensing measurement. For the SERS sensors, a plasmonic nanostructure is developed by nanotechnology to enhance the sensitivity. The portable device can be used as a point-of-care (POC) device for directly measuring multiple TBI biomarkers in blood without the need of blood sample pretreatment in a centralized laboratory prior to biomarker detection. The device can provide the data for early TBI prognosis, and guide additional confirmatory testing. Hence, it is able to assist rapid screening of TBI patients in an emergency department or in a clinic. The data obtained by the device can also be used for guiding the TBI treatment. The proposed research lies at the interface of nanotechnology, materials science, biology and health science. The inherently interdisciplinary nature of this proposed project offers opportunities for training students in diverse research areas.