Analyst Blog

UK researchers have used vibrational spectroscopy to chemically image the cross section of a prostate to such an incredible level of detail that each of the 66 million pixels in the image represents a piece of tissue only 5.5 × 5.5µm.

Biopsies are regularly taken to diagnose cancer and provide a snapshot of the disease. Trained histopathologists examine the samples under powerful optical microscopes using several specialist stains to highlight particular characteristics of cells or tissues in a time-consuming process.

Peter Gardner of the University of Manchester and colleagues hope their technique, which uses Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) chemical imaging, will eventually be turned into an automated system that can grade and stage biopsy samples 24 hours a day by identifying certain chemical signatures.

To read the full article, please visit Chemistry World.

Whole organ cross-section chemical imaging using label-free mega-mosaic FTIR microscopy
Paul Bassan, Ashwin Sachdeva, Jonathan H. Shanks, Mick D. Brown, Noel W. Clarke and Peter Gardner
Analyst, 2013,138, 7066-7069
DOI: 10.1039/C3AN01674A, Communication

Scientists in Canada and the US hope a system they have developed for monitoring amyloid-β aggregation on a chip could be used to find new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is a complex neurodegenerative condition and the most common cause of dementia. In the US, more than 5 million people are estimated to have the condition. There is currently no known cure. Research has uncovered that the self-aggregation of the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide plays a vital role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Methods that study the interaction of Aβ with potential new drugs are therefore extremely important.

Now, Kagan Kerman at the University of Toronto at Scarborough, and colleagues, have created a sensing platform to aid the drug screening process. ‘We have successfully demonstrated a novel method for high throughput screening of small molecules modulating Aβ growth and it provides a promising platform to facilitate therapeutics discovery for Alzheimer’s disease,’ says Kerman.

To read the full article, please visit Chemistry World.

LED-based interferometric reflectance imaging sensor for the detection of amyloid-β aggregation
Xin R. Cheng, George G. Daaboul, M. Selim Ünlü and Kagan Kerman
Analyst, 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3AN01307C, Paper