Daijiworld Media Network - Chennai
Chennai, Apr 28: A team of Indian researchers has achieved a breakthrough in prenatal diagnostics with the development of a new biosensor platform capable of testing for and diagnosing preeclampsia – a life-threatening hypertensive complication in pregnant women – within just 30 minutes.
Preeclampsia, which typically manifests after the 20th week of pregnancy, affects a significant 2-8 per cent of pregnancies globally. Current traditional methods for detecting this condition are often time-intensive, require substantial infrastructure, and necessitate trained personnel. In contrast, this innovative platform offers a rapid, on-site, and affordable screening solution at an early stage, which is crucial for timely treatment to minimize maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality rates.
The research team, spearheaded by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT) Madras in collaboration with the Vellore Institute of Technology, developed the Plasmonic Fibre Optic Absorbance Biosensor (P-FAB) technology, leveraging fibre optics sensor technology.
Their focus was on Placental growth factor (PlGF), an angiogenic blood biomarker widely utilized in the diagnosis of preeclampsia.
“The P-FAB technology was able to detect PlGF at a femtomolar level using polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) based U-bent polymeric optical fiber (POF) sensor probes,” explained Prof. V.V. Raghavendra Sai of the Biosensors Laboratory, Department of Applied Mechanics and Biomedical Engineering at IIT Madras.
The ‘PlGF’ biomarker typically peaks between 28 to 32 weeks in a normal pregnancy. However, in women with preeclampsia, its levels decrease by two to three times after the 28th week of pregnancy.
The newly developed POF sensor probes, utilizing the P-FAB strategy, can measure PlGF levels within a swift 30-minute timeframe. Clinical sample testing has validated the accuracy, reliability, specificity, and sensitivity of the P-FAB-based POF sensor platform, paving the way for a cost-effective technology for PlGF detection and its potential application in preeclampsia diagnosis.
“The biosensor platform developed by the research team is simple and reliable, paving the way for affordable diagnosis. It can also lead to increasing the test coverage of Placental growth factor (PlGF) biomarker tests, thereby resulting in a potential for a significant impact on the management of pre-eclampsia and towards reduction in the global burden of mortality and morbidity from preeclampsia,” added Prof. Sai.
The findings of the study, published in the esteemed journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics, indicate that the POF platform holds promising applications for the detection of other communicable and non-communicable diseases, including cancer, tuberculosis, and Alzheimer's. Notably, the technology eliminates the need for harsh chemicals and utilizes recyclable POF.
The researchers also highlighted the potential of this biosensor platform for preeclampsia diagnosis in remote and resource-limited settings.