Researchers from Russia have developed a new generation of rapid tests to diagnose myocardial infarction (heart attack), and this test can detect the disease in just six minutes.
However, the new test is about 45 times more sensitive than its current counterparts, according to TASS, citing the press service of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.
Alexei Orlov, a senior researcher at the Institute of General Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said:
"Rapid testing has always faced a difficult equation: either speed and simplicity, or accuracy. But we have managed to radically overcome this trade-off, as we not only improved traditional markers, but replaced them with nano-strands that are active within a rotating magnetic field."
Orlov and his colleagues explained that the speed of diagnosing a myocardial infarction directly affects a patient's chances of survival. However, current laboratory methods take between 30 and 60 minutes and require specialized equipment and qualified personnel. Furthermore, the available rapid tests often produce false negatives due to their low sensitivity, thus limiting their effectiveness.
Russian scientists have made a significant breakthrough by integrating nano-strand sensors into a rapid testing system. These sensors consist of strands of iron oxide nanoparticles approximately one micrometer in length, to which antibodies capable of recognizing H-FABP protein, a biomarker for myocardial infarction, are attached. This protein appears in the bloodstream within the first hour of an attack, enabling rapid diagnosis.
The key advantage of these nanostructures lies in their ability to move surrounding blood when exposed to a rotating magnetic field, which accelerates the interaction of the H-FABP protein with antibodies by tens of times. During testing, the nanochains bound to the biomarker begin to aggregate, enhancing the signal and reducing background noise by approximately half.
According to the researchers, the new detection system does not require modification of traditional test strips, which remain low-cost and easy to manufacture. It only requires a simple generator of a rotating magnetic field powered by standard batteries. This is expected to enable the development of inexpensive and reliable tests capable of detecting multiple biomarkers of heart damage using a single drop of blood.
