Update on ultrasensitive technologies to facilitate research on blood biomarkers for central nervous system disorders

Most research on fluid biomarkers for central nervous system (CNS) disorders has so far been performed using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as the biomarker source. CSF has the advantage of being closer to the brain than serum or plasma with a relative enrichment of CNS-specific proteins that are present at very low concentrations in the blood and thus difficult to reliably quantify using standard immunochemical technologies. Recent technical breakthroughs in the field of ultrasensitive assays have started to change this. Here, we review the most established ultrasensitive quantitative technologies that are currently available to general biomarker laboratories and discuss their use in research on biomarkers for CNS disorders

Non-invasive and high-sensitivity scanning detection of magnetic nanoparticles in animals using high-T-c scanning superconducting-quantum-interference-device biosusceptometry

Although magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have been widely applied to animals in biomedicine, MNPs within animals should be examined in real time, in vivo, and without bio-damaged possibility to evaluate whether the bio-function of MNPs is valid or to further controls the biomedicinal process because of accompanying complex problems such as MNPs distribution and MNPs biodegradation. The non-invasive and high-sensitivity scanning detection of MNPs in animals using ac susceptometry based on a high-T-c superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) is presented. The non-invasive results and biopsy results show good agreement, and two gold-standard biomedicine methods, Prussian blue stain and inductively coupled plasma, prove the magnetic results. This confirms that the future clinical diagnosis of bio-functional MNPs could be operated by using scanning SQUID biosusceptometry as conveniently as an ultrasonic probe. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3623795

Simultaneous identification of the low-field-induced tiny variation of complex refractive index for anisotropic and opaque magnetic-fluid thin film by a stable heterodyne Mach-Zehnder interferometer

We use a heterodyne Mach-Zehnder interferometer to simultaneously and simply measure the complex refractive index by only normal incidence on the specimen, instead of using a complicated measurement procedure or instrument that only measures the real or imaginary part of the complex refractive index. To study the tiny variation of the complex refractive index, the small complex refractive-index variation of a rare-concentration magnetic-fluid thin film, due to a weak field of less than 200 Oe, was processed by this interferometer. We also present the wavelength trend of the complex refractive index of magnetic fluids to verify the appearance of the slight change in a small wavelength range. (C) 2009 Optical Society of Americ

In Vivo and Real-Time Measurement of Magnetic Nanoparticles Distribution in Animals by Scanning SQUID Biosusceptometry for Biomedicine Study

Magnetic nanoparticles have been widely applied to biomagnetism, such as drug deliver, magnetic labeling, and contrast agent for in vivo image, etc. To localize the distribution of these magnetic particles in living organism is the first important issue to confirm the effects of magnetic nanoparticles and also evaluate the possible untoward effects. In this study, a scanning high T(c) rf-SQUID superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) biosusceptometry, composed of static SQUID unit and scanning coil sets, is developed for biomedicine study with the advantages of easy operation and unshielded environment. The characteristics tests showed that the system had the low noise of 8 pT/Hz at 400 Hz and the high sensitivity with the minimum detectable magnetization around 4.5 x 10(-3) EMU at distance of 13 mm. A magnetic nanoparticle detection test, performed by ex vivo scanning of the magnetic fluids filled capillary under swine skin for simulation of blood vessels in living bodies, confirmed that the system is feasible for dynamic tracking of magnetic nanoparticles. Based on this result, we performed further studies in rats to clarify the dynamic distribution of magnetic nanoparticle in living organism for the pharmacokinetics analysis like drug delivers, and propose the possible physiological metabolism of intravenous magnetic nanoparticles

Spatial Recognition of a Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices Nondestructive Evaluation System Using a Small Room-Temperature Probe

A superconducting-qantum-interference-device (SQUID) nondestructive evaluation (NDE) system using a small room-temperature probe is developed for active scanning rather than for a massive movement occurring in a traditional SQUID NDE system. The small room-temperature probe is composed of a quadruple excitation coil and a double D-shaped pickup coil. It is connected to the input coil surrounding a high-T(c) rf SQUID, immersed in liquid nitrogen, and shielded by a shielding can. Beyond the NDE function, the SQUID NDE scheme has spatial recognition functions, including the detection of the orientation and depth of a narrow line crack using different parameters, and the scanning of images of large objects with arbitrary shapes. Furthermore, the spatial sensitivity, limited by the size of the probe, reaches up to only 7 mu m in the aspect of crack widths and 1 mm in the aspect of spatial intervals for precision NDE on a printed circuit board. (C) 2009 The Japan Society of Applied Physic