SUPER Dot molecular probes: Finding a needle in a haystack
Dr Dayong Jin, Faculty of Science
Diseases, like cancer, usually develop over years before symptoms appear. This is due to the fact that the altered biomarkers are generally present in low numbers, and are extremely difficult to detect, posing a "needle-in-a-haystack" problem. Current detection, quantification and localisation technologies use fluorescent probes that are limited by sensitivity and analysis time. The Advanced Cytometry Labs @ Macquarie has invented and demonstrated a library of hypersensitive molecular probes—SUPER Dots—able to pinpoint small numbers of abnormal cells in water, blood and urine. It improves the detectable limits by orders of magnitude, promising non-invasive early-stage diagnosis.
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