THURSDAY, March 8, 2007 (HealthDay News) -- An inexpensive technique to screen for millions of different biomolecules -- such as proteins, RNA and DNA -- in a single sample has been developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers.
This technology could lead to the development of low-cost medical diagnostic tests at patients' bedsides and could also be used for genetic profiling, disease monitoring and drug discovery, the scientists said.
A paper on the research is published in the March 9 issue of the journal Science.
This technique uses tiny customizable particles (thinner than the width of a human hair) that are each equipped with a barcoded ID and one or more probe regions that turn fluorescent when they detect specific biomolecules in a sample, the scientists explained.
They said they can custom produce a "virtually unlimited" range of particles to test for millions of different biomolecules.
More information
MedLinePlus has more about different kinds of diagnostic tests.
