For Dr. Soria’s presentations, I researched a lot of information on gold nanoparticle use for cancer treatment. I planned on blogging about other applications for gold nanoparticles and was intrigued by its use in toxin detection. These nanoparticles make possible a portable detection system that could scan for viruses, bacteria, and toxins used by bio-terrorists, perhaps right in the airport. However, my own personal airport TSA search coming back from Italy was not so pleasant as to include gold nanoparticles.
Nanoparticles can be conjugated to antibodies specific for the toxin in question. These probes can then be used with a very small sample of cells. Once bound, a comparison of infected cells and healthy cells should yield a dramatic difference in appearance. The difference between gold nanoparticle detection and previous methods is its portability and rapid speed. Once the nanoparticles are bound, visualization through a microscope shows cells covered with the light-reflecting probes.
A more quantitative method sometimes used is surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy, which measures the nanoparticles’ interaction with light at specific frequencies. Higher or lower absorbances mark higher or lower amounts of bound probes. Specifically for ease in toxin detection, new research has taken advantage of visible color changes. Nanoparticles are created and then coated with sugars. This weak solution is then mixed with the toxin, modified, and yields a solution with a new color. A pure gold nanoparticle solution is made at first to be red but changes blue when a toxin is present. The depth of color correlates to the concentration of toxin as well. Further research on this topic could yield almost endless possibilities. Forensic chemistry could use gold nanoparticles at crime scenes, and water sources could be determined whether safe or unsafe to drink.
References:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4872188.stm
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