Tiny tracers

A consortium of UK universities is developing a low-cost, ultra sensitive universal biosensor that could be used for everything from home diagnosis of disease to chemical plant monitoring and anti-bioterrorism and pandemic detection.

Researchers from

,

and

universities, as well as China's

, are taking part in the three-year,

-sponsored project, led by Prof Jack Luo of Bolton's Centre for Materials Research and Innovation.

Biosensors are a type of microdevice that are able to measure very small concentrations of biological molecules or chemical substances through specific bio-binding or chemical absorption.

Their current uses include medical diagnosis, measuring such chemicals as anthrax in the fight against terrorism and the prevention of the spread of pandemics by detecting pathogens. They are showing great promise in the early diagnosis of cancers and genetic disorders.

Biosensors work by recording reactions between chemicals or agents on their surface and others to which they are exposed. For example, if an antibody is placed on their surface and then they are exposed to a sample from a patient such as blood, antigens within the blood may react with the antibodies and bind to the surface, showing that the antigen is present.