新型皮下生物传感芯片或助力个体化精准医学疗法的研究

  医学的未来在于更好的精确度，而并不仅仅只是诊断，更在于使用药物的剂量，近日，来自瑞士洛桑联邦理工学院（EPFL）的研究人员通过研究开发了一种新型的生物传感芯片，这种设备可以在尽可能长的一段时间内进行持续性的分析。
  研究者Carrara博士表示，这种新型的生物传感芯片是世界上第一个可以同时测定pH和温度的设备，而且其还可以测定机体代谢相关的分子，比如葡萄糖、乳酸和胆固醇以及药物等，这种电化学传感器可以同酶类联合或不联合来发挥作用，这就意味着该设备可以同一系列化合物进行反应，而且可以持续数天甚至几周来进行反应。
  研究者表示，这种仅有1平方厘米大的设备包含了三种主要组分：携带6个传感器的回路、可以分析输入信号的控制器以及一个无线电传输模块，该设备同时还有一个感应线圈，其可以从外部电池获得能量，并且通过一个贴片吸附质皮肤中；研究者表示，利用一种简单的石膏将电池固定住，这样感应线圈和蓝牙模块就可以将检测结果立刻发送到移动电话上。
  目前这种新型芯片设备在小鼠体内进行了成功地检测，研究者表示，他们可以在不用追踪小鼠日常活动的情况下，就可以对小鼠机体的葡萄糖和药物对乙酰氨基酚的含量水平进行持续监测；相关研究结果非常有用，这就意味着对人类的临床测试在该设备的帮助下在3-5天内就可以完成，尤其是整个过程仅仅是微创性的，即将芯片置于患者的皮下即可。
  最后研究者说道，清楚知晓机体代谢中药物的实时精确效应对于后期开发个体化精准医学疗法将非常关键和重要。（转化医学网360zhyx.com）
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Several EPFL laboratories are working on devices allowing constant analysis over as long a period as possible. The latest development is the biosensor chip, created by researchers in the Integrated Systems Laboratory working together with the Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit Group. Sandro Carrara is unveiling it at the International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS) in Lisbon.
Autonomous operation
"This is the world's first chip capable of measuring not just pH and temperature, but also metabolism-related molecules like glucose, lactate and cholesterol, as well as drugs," said Dr Carrara. A group of electrochemical sensors works with or without enzymes, which means the device can react to a wide range of compounds, and it can do so for several days or even weeks.
This one-centimetre square device contains three main components: a circuit with six sensors, a control unit that analyses incoming signals, and a radio transmission module. It also has an induction coil that draws power from an external battery attached to the skin by a patch. "A simple plaster holds together the battery, the coil and a Bluetooth module used to send the results immediately to a mobile phone," said Dr Carrara.
Contactless, in vivo monitoring
The chip was successfully tested in vivo on mice at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) in Bellinzona, where researchers were able to constantly monitor glucose and paracetamol levels without a wire tracker getting in the way of the animals' daily activities. The results were extremely promising, which means that clinical tests on humans could take place in three to five years -- especially since the procedure is only minimally invasive, with the chip being implanted just under the epidermis.
"Knowing the precise and real-time effect of drugs on the metabolism is one of the keys to the type of personalised, precision medicine that we are striving for," said Dr Carrara.