Vol.2 No.2 2009

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Research paper−142−Synthesiology - English edition Vol.2 No.2 pp.142-153 (Oct. 2009) Of course, there are many methods for detecting minute substances, but considering use in a medical care situation, it must be of low cost and the device must not require extensive training to operate. For certain diseases and conditions, sensors that fulfill such requirements have been designed and put to actual use. They include the influenza diagnosis using the immunochromatography method (Tamitest Influenza AB of Roche Diagnostics K.K., QuickVue Rabid SP Influ of DS Pharma Biomedical Co., Ltd.) and pregnancy test using gold colloid chormato-immunosorbent assay (Dotest of Rhoto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Check One Fast of Arax Co., Ltd.).However, in many cases, effective sensors that can surmount the issues of very low concentration of target substance produced by the disease or difficulty in separation from other substances have not been developed. Much is expected in future developments. With these demands and with objectives of establishing a biosensing technology that enables quick discovery of a disease at its early stage, even at small hospitals, we developed a biological substance sensor that is highly sensitive to certain minute substances, compact so it is portable, and that enables stable measurements not dependent on the measurement environment. Also, one of the major issues was the mixing of various substances that may interfere with the target substances when using human samples such as blood, urine, or saliva. Therefore, we developed a method to prevent the interference caused by these foreign substances.2 Development of molecular adsorption detection sensor1 IntroductionOne of the important functions expected of medical sensors is the early detection of diseases. With the recent advances in medicine, many substances associated with various diseases have been identified, and the presence and progress of the disease can be determined by detecting these substances. The possibility of curing a disease increases dramatically by early discovery. To find a disease in its early stage, it is necessary to detect these substances even at low concentration. This means that there is a demand for higher sensitivity of the sensor.Other functions of the sensor include the identification of the cause of the disease and observation of the patient’s progress. For example, in case of a cold or food poisoning, it is necessary to immediately identify the virus or bacterium that is causing the symptoms. When the patient is admitted to a hospital and administered some drug, it is important to conduct an on-spot observation to see whether the drug is taking effect. In such situations, the sensors are expected to quickly detect the target substance. In addition to sensitivity, the sensor must also be compact so it can be portable, and be capable of performing without being influenced by the environment in which the measurements are made.If a high-performance sensor allows early discovery of diseases, early identification, and accurate progress observation with minimal stress, the patient can be expected to recover early. This will reduce physical strain on the patient, as well as reduce the time and cost of medical care. - Biomolecular detection for highly-developed diagnosis, medication, and medical treatments -Makoto Fujimaki* and Koichi AwazuCenter for Applied Near-Field Optics Research, AIST Tsukuba Central 4, Higashi 1-1-1, Tsukuba, 305-8562, Japan *E-mail : Received original manuscript March 9, 2009, Revisions received April 21, 2009, Accepted May 11, 2009High sensitivity sensors for detection of molecules are aspired in various fields of application, particularly in medical technology, pharmacy and environmental sciences. In the present research, we have developed a high-performance molecular detection sensor for diagnosis, medication, and medical treatments that utilizes waveguide modes as basic technology. We successfully obtained sensors with high sensitivity and stability by applying nano-perforation technology, optical simulation and experiments, and an originally developed sensing-plate fabrication process. In this report, the scenario of the present research, elemental technologies and their synthesis for achieving the scenario and the properties of the realized sensors are described. In addition, a rapid progress in sensing performance obtained by a breakthrough is reported. Development of high-sensitivity molecular adsorption detection sensorsKeywords : Biosensor, waveguide modes, optical waveguide, evanescent field, molecular adsorption[Translation from Synthesiology, Vol.2, No.2, p.147-158 (2009)]

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