Nano-bar codes could revolutionise diagnostics

A new technology which could aid the early detection of disease has been invented and developed by University of Queensland (UQ) researchers.

Dr Krassen Dimitrov, from UQ's Australian Institute for Bioengineering & Nanotechnology, has developed fluorescent ‘bar codes’, called nanostrings, which bind to RNA molecules for digital gene expression analysis.

“Because this system can count the exact number of biomolecules present, we can get an extremely accurate and sensitive picture of gene expression at a particular point in time,” Dimitrov said.

“This quantitative data is superior to other gene expression systems such as microarrays, which rely on the analogue measurement of fluorescence and therefore are less accurate and have a limited range.”

Dimitrov said the technology, based on a robust, non-enzymatic process which reduces the chance of bias, is an important development in both clinical and research settings.

“We will be able to more accurately detect molecules associated with particular diseases and, in the research arena, we will be able to identify new molecules associated with diseases and trace these back to the genes responsible," he said.

Dimitrov is currently working on the next step, which will be new nano-bar codes that will further reduce the cost and improve sensitivity and usability.

The research is published in the prestigious international journal Nature Biotechnology and the technology has been commercialised by Dimitrov’s Seattle-based company.