14 DAY TRIAL // Investigators at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have created a sensor that can monitor the concentration of nitric oxide (NO) in the cells of living animals, paving the way for long-term monitoring of the important signaling molecule. This type of implantable sensor could be used to advance our understanding of how NO behaves in cancer cells.
This chemical plays a very important role in coordinating the functions of the human immune system, and enables the quick transmission of messages within the brain. Over the years, scientists have discovered that NO concentrations are offset in cancerous cells, but the exact reason why this occurs has thus far eluded them.
The new sensor developed at MIT can be implanted under the skin and monitors inflammation, a process that produces large amounts of nitric oxide. The device relays data in real-time, enabling experts to figure out the circuit of NO through the body. Each sensor can be worn for up to a year.
The investigation was led by Nicole Iverson, a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Michael Strano, the Carbon P. Dubbs professor of chemical engineering at MIT. Details of the sensor were published in the November 3 issue of the esteemed scientific journal Nature Nanotechnology.
“Nitric oxide has contradictory roles in cancer progression, and we need new tools in order to better understand it. Our work provides a new tool for measuring this important molecule, and potentially others, in the body itself and in real time,” Strano explains.
Another reason why this study is so important is that the carbon nanotube-based design could potentially be adapted to recognize or detect other important molecules in living organisms. For instance, a version of the sensor could be used to monitor glucose and insulin levels in diabetics.
Previous studies by this MIT group have resulted in the creation of carbon nanotube (CNT) sensors capable of detecting harmful chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide and sarin nerve gas. CNT can be made to exhibit fluorescence in the presence of these chemicals, making it easy to detect their presence.
The sensor lasts for up to 400 days in living organisms because it is embedded in an algae polymer called alginate. Experts envision using it to monitor cancer or immune diseases in patients.