Magnetic nanoparticles composed of iron oxide and coated with silicon dioxide could be the next big thing in medical diagnostics, according to the scientists in Vietnam who created them. The nanoparticles could be used to trap the antibodies to the virus that causes cervical cancer and to bacteria that causes potentially lethal diarrhea. Once trapped, the antibodies can be exposed to a potentially contaminated sample and, if pathogen particles are present, some will stick to the antibodies and this change can then be detected by a conventional test, or assay. The magnetic nanoparticles could improve the limits of detection for these conventional tests, by allowing just the pathogen particles to be separated from the sample before carrying out the assay, reducing the chance of residual cells and other substances interfering with the test. According to Tran Hoang Hai, of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Physics, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer after breast cancer in women worldwide, but the conventional assay does not reveal the presence of cancerous cells at the very earliest stage. Their magnetic nanoparticle approach could remedy this situation, he says. The article can be viewed online at the link below.
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-01-lethal-diseases-rust-sand.html