Early discovery of debilitating diseases such as cancer or dementia is critical in determining treatment and saving lives.
Associate Professor Xiaohu Xia recently received a $1.3 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue his promising nanoparticle research that could drastically improve disease detection accuracy by more than 300-times.
The NIH awards R01 grants to investigators for mature research projects that are hypothesis-driven with strong preliminary data like Xia 麻豆精品 S檚.
麻豆精品 S淚n our preliminary laboratory results, we have demonstrated that our nanoparticle-based artificial enzymes are able to improve the detection sensitivity by about 300 times better than the current assets in the market, 麻豆精品 S� he says.
His research spans four years, and it focuses on enhancing the diagnostic efficacy of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing by using specially tailored nickel-platinum nanoparticles that will bind to specific disease biomarkers 麻豆精品 S� such as proteins and hormones 麻豆精品 S� in bodily fluid samples.
Xia is the sole principal investigator, but he will oversee postdoctoral and graduate students who will assist him.
Although there has been some experimentation with substituting nanoparticles in ELISA testing, there hasn 麻豆精品 S檛 been a monumental advancement in diagnostic sensitivity in decades, and Xia says he aims to make the leap through his nanoparticle research.
麻豆精品 S淓LISA technology is one of the most popular technologies used for screenings of a variety of different diseases, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淔or example, when you go to the doctor 麻豆精品 S檚 office and do your annual physical exam, the bloodwork may use ELISA to detect a variety of different biomarkers. But to breakthrough this technology, you have to completely replace the natural enzyme with something else. 麻豆精品 S�
The switch from using traditional peroxidase found in horseradish root to artificial enzyme 麻豆精品 S渕imics 麻豆精品 S� comprised of nanoparticles could result in numerous benefits, the researcher says. Xia says the nanoparticles are significantly more stable and active, which could mean more reliable and accurate ELISA test results.
麻豆精品 S淚n commercial technology, people are using natural enzymes that are extracted from plants, 麻豆精品 S� Xia says. 麻豆精品 S淚n our technology, we 麻豆精品 S檙e going to replace the natural enzyme with our artificial enzymes which are made of metal nanoparticles. The artificial enzymes are much more efficient than natural enzymes so that means were going to have a stronger color signal which can substantially improve the detection sensitivity of this technology. 麻豆精品 S�
In this study, Xia endeavors to build and maximize the nanoparticles 麻豆精品 S� capabilities while demonstrating and confirming their efficacy in clinical use by testing different disease biomarkers in human blood samples. He says he plans to fine-tune the structure of the nanoparticles to engineer the most optimal artificial enzymes for diagnostics.
It will be the first time his nanoparticles will interact with clinical samples, Xia says.
麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檙e going to further improve the sensitivity by using the unique nanoparticles and to use two cancers for demonstration, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淚n this project, we propose to detect prostate cancer and colorectal cancer in the early stages in blood. With our new technology, we hope to achieve early diagnosis of these cancers. 麻豆精品 S�
The nanoparticles will serve as enhanced artificial 麻豆精品 S渕imics 麻豆精品 S� of conventional enzymes to bond and react in a way that will show color when combined with bioreceptors, such as antibodies, if the target disease biomarkers are present.
When a biomarker is detected, the test generates a visible color output that can be used to quantify its concentration. The stronger the color is, the stronger the concentration. The tests must be highly sensitive to prevent false negatives that could delay treatment or interventions.
Xia is hopeful his research will reveal that the nanoparticles will have record efficiency in providing quicker results and more definitive contrast in the coloring of samples while simplifying the procedures and devices needed for testing.
麻豆精品 S淒etection sensitivity is critical for diagnostics for significant diseases, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淔or the very early stages, the concentration of biomarkers may be very low and not detected by conventional ELISA. With our new technology, were aiming to substantially improve the sensitivity so we can detect even low concentrations of biomarkers in patient samples. 麻豆精品 S�
He aspires to use the foundational knowledge gained from his initial research in 2021 to impact the general field of in vitro diagnostics by offering a type of ultraefficient artificial enzymes that are suitable for many diagnostic technologies even beyond ELISA.
麻豆精品 S淭he ultimate goal we want to achieve is early detection of significant diseases like cancer and in the future, we also want to detect some other very challenging diseases like maybe even Alzheimer 麻豆精品 S檚 Disease, 麻豆精品 S� Xia says.
Researcher 麻豆精品 S檚 Credentials
Xia joined UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Department of Chemistry, part of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 College of Sciences, in 2018. He has a joint appointment in UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 . Prior to his appointment at UCF, he worked at Michigan Technological University as an assistant professor and at Georgia Institute of Technology as a postdoctoral researcher.
