Human body is a marvellous machine and just like any other machine, it requires repair and maintenance in case of any defect. In humans, these defects can be serious and critical ailments like cancer. From a very long time, scientists have been trying to find out ways by which diseases affecting the health condition of a human body can be identified at an early stage or as soon as possible. Working in this direction, a team of researchers has developed implantable carbon nanotubes.

These nanotubes are designed as miniscule cylinders made of grapheme and coated with another type of polymer. These are flexible and easy to modify for different purposes. To use these nanotubes in diagnosing diseases, the researchers designed special polymers that give response to a molecule which they are interested in. Once this is done, a special sensor in the nanotube sends the signal back to a computer for further processing.

As reported in Nature News, the researchers as part of their presentation gave details about the experiments conducted with mice using these nanotubes. In the case of mice, the nanotubes were designed to detect insulin (for diagnosing diabetes); fibrinogen (an indicator of liver disease and a protein necessary for blood clot formation) and nitric oxide (a molecule the body produces in case of cancer). They then engineered the polymers to sense a particular molecule. After this, they tested the carbon nanotubes in blood samples outside the mice, and then implanted the devices inside the mice. The nanotubes transmitted a continuous signal and, when inside the body, didn’t break down or cause a reaction for 400 days. The nitric oxide sensors in particular worked well, as they were injected into the bloodstream and were even able to pass through the tiny capillaries in the lungs.

Since the cost of these nanotubes is quite high, people will naturally opt for blood tests for the diagnosis in the foreseeable future. But if these tubes show the same success story in humans, then these can surely be used for continuous monitoring of patients in unstable conditions.

[adinserter block=”7″]

Author:Technology Blog