A Rutgers University-led team has created what it is calling a "better biosensor technology that may help lead to safe stem cell therapies for treating Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and other neurological disorders".
The development, which is based on a graphene and gold platform and high-tech imaging system, monitors the progress of stem cells by detecting genetic material (RNA) involved in turning such cells into brain cells (neurons).
A critical challenge is ensuring high sensitivity and accuracy in detecting biomarkers indicators such as modified genes or proteins within the complex stem cell microenvironment, said senior author KiBum Lee, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology in the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers UniversityNew Brunswick. Our technology, which took four years to develop, has demonstrated great potential for analyzing a variety of interactions in stem cells. The team’s unique biosensing platform consists of an array of ultrathin graphene layers and gold nanostructures.
The platform, combined with high-tech imaging (Raman spectroscopy), detects genes and characterizes different kinds of stem cells with greater reliability, selectivity and sensitivity than today’s biosensors. The team believes the technology can benefit a range of applications. By developing simple, rapid and accurate sensing platforms, Lee’s group aims to facilitate treatment of neurological disorders through stem cell therapy.
Stem cells may become a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat diseases including macular degeneration, spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, according to the National Institutes of Health. The study’s co-lead authors are Letao Yang and Jin-Ho Lee, postdoctoral researchers in Lee’s group. Rutgers co-authors include doctoral students Christopher Rathnam and Yannan Hou. A scientist at Sogang University in South Korea contributed to the study.