Gold nanosensor improves drug monitoring
27 Oct 2014
A Canadian research team claims its nanoscale device can help minimise a cancer drug’s adverse side-effects.
Methotrexate is a commonly used drug and has been prescribed for several years to treat certain cancers, among other diseases, because of its ability to block the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR). This enzyme is active in the synthesis of DNA precursors and therefore promotes the proliferation of cancer cells, a research team from the University of Montreal, Canada said.
To combat this, the research team has developed a miniature device which, in under a minute, can measure a patient’s blood for levels of methotrexate.
“In the near future, we can foresee the device in doctors’ offices or even at the bedside
Lead researcher Jean-François Masson
Researchers claim the nanosensor is as accurate, and 10 times less expensive, than equipment currently used in hospitals.
The device features an optical system that can rapidly gauge the optimal dose of methotrexate a patient needs, while minimising the drug’s adverse side-effects, the researchers said.
Lead researcher Jean-François Masson said: “While effective, methotrexate is also highly toxic and can damage the healthy cells of patients, hence the importance of closely monitoring the drug’s concentration in the serum of treated individuals to adjust the dosage.”
Masson claims that until now, monitoring has been conducted in hospitals using fluorescent bioassays to measure light polarisation produced by a drug sample.
“The operation of the current device is based on a cumbersome, expensive platform that requires experienced personnel because of the many samples that need to be manipulated,” Masson said.
Masson’s device, which was co-developed by Joelle Pelletier, a specialist of the DHFR enzyme, features gold nanoparticles on the surface of the receptacle which change the colour of the light detected by the instrument.
The detected colour reflects the exact concentration of the drug in the blood sample, the researchers said.
The researchers said that in ’competing’ with methotrexate to block the enzyme, the gold nanoparticles change the colour of the light detected by the instrument. And the colour of the light detected reflects the exact concentration of the drug in the blood sample.
“In the near future, we can foresee the device in doctors’ offices or even at the bedside, where patients would receive individualised and optimal doses while minimising the risk of complications,” Masson said.
