| Posted: January 12, 2010 | |
| Gold nanoparticles used in detecting meningococcal meningitis | |
| (Nanowerk News) Research by an RMIT University PhD graduate has led to the development of a diagnosis method that uses gold nanoparticles to detect deadly meningococcal meningitis disease in its early stages. | |
| The method developed by Dr Sapna Thoduka uses a change in the colour of a gold nanoparticle solution to indicate the presence of meningococcal DNA. | |
| The change in colour of the gold nanoparticle solution can be detected by the naked eye and the technique is being developed further for use in a point-of-care clinical setting, for the diagnosis of meningococcal meningitis. | |
| In the future, this will hopefully lead to more rapid detection of meningococcal disease and earlier treatment, which will ultimately result in fewer deaths and less severe complications, Dr Thoduka said. | |
| Meningococcal meningitis is a disease that progresses rapidly and can cause death if left untreated. Even if treated, it can still lead to severe complications. | |
| By diagnosing the disease early, it is possible to prevent death or severe complications by giving patients the most appropriate treatment. | |
| I was interested in pursuing this research because of the severe nature of this disease and its rapid onset, as well as the multidisciplinary aspect of the research, Dr Thoduka said. | |
| My research involved applying knowledge about the unusual physical properties of gold nanoparticles and chemical interactions between DNA and the gold nanoparticles, to develop a method for detecting specific DNA sequences. | |
| For her research project, Dr Thoduka worked with Nanotechnology Victoria. | |
| I was fortunate that Nanotechnology Victoria was interested in my research, she said. | |
| I also hope that the detection method Ive developed can be expanded to be used in the diagnosis of other diseases in the future. |
| Source: RMIT University |
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