Researchers at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have developed a simple, rapid, and sensitive test that identifies individuals who have made antibodies against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the most common cause of serious lower respiratory tract infection in infants and young children worldwide. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2022 Sep 30;8(39):eabo8017. In vivo imaging of NIR patterns in rodent skin. QDs with a copper indium selenide core and aluminum-doped zinc sulfide shell were tuned to emit in the NIR spectrum by controlling stoichiometry and shelling time. More information: K.J. Present affiliation: ATCC Cell Systems, Gaithersburg, MD 20877, USA. Such a system of recording medical information must be extremely discreet and acceptable to the person whose health information is being recorded and his or her family, he says. 0000279443 00000 n Bioluminescent quantum dots Bioluminescence is widely used for in vivo imaging of nude mice. They are often used by scientists because they can help researchers monitor biological processes. After all, theres no point in advancing a technology that no ones going to use. With this aim, researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a microneedle patch containing a nanocrystal dye that creates near-infrared-emitting dots under the skin. the neutralizing antibodies achieved were well above the threshold considered protective by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the investigators stated. It can never be lost, it can never be counterfeited., From there, reading the dots becomes a lot like scanning a QR code. Especially in developing countries where medical records may not be as complete or as accessible, there can be value in having medical information directly associated with a person, says Mark Prausnitz, a bioengineering professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, who was not involved in the new study. 0000010079 00000 n 111 0 obj <>stream The researchers showed that their new dye, which consists of nanocrystals called quantum dots, can remain for at least five years under the skin, where it emits near-infrared light that can be detected by a specially equipped smartphone. 0000125059 00000 n The availability of self-illuminating quantum dot conjugates will provide many new possibilities for in vivo imaging and detection, such as monitoring of in vivo cell trafficking, multiplex bioluminescence imaging and new quantum dot-based biosensors. 0000024334 00000 n 0000004080 00000 n The maximum bioluminescence intensity of Rluc (2 M) is observed at 480 nm, which increases with increasing the amount of . This website is managed by the MIT News Office, part of the Institute Office of Communications. PDF Project Rooftop - WordPress.com But adding more microneedles could make the designs more intricate, potentially conveying information about a vaccinations date, dosage, lot number and more. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely. Verizon, 22001 Loudoun County Pkwy, Ashburn, VA, Electric Charging 0000017115 00000 n Rao tried using this new Luc8 variant, and it worked. Many vaccines, such as the vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), require multiple doses spaced out at certain intervals; without accurate records, children may not receive all of the necessary doses. Thats especially true given the fraught history of vaccination in countries at all socioeconomic strata, including the United States. The patch can be customized to imprint different patterns that correspond to the type of vaccine delivered. But Nagar acknowledges the possible concerns all such technology poses. MIT researchers have developed a method of storing vaccination history underneath a patient'sskin, reports Elizabeth Cooney for STAT. Thats especially true given the. But you also want to mindful of the potential impact that science might have. 0000010133 00000 n No claim to original U.S. Government Works. A pattern of 1.5-millimeter microneedles that contain vaccine and fluorescent quantum dots are applied as a patch. Imaging before and after the microneedle application of the on patient medical record on pig skin. Copyright 2023 Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. Thank you for visiting nature.com. This approach is likely to be one of many trying to solve the problem of storing individuals medical information, says Ruchit Nagar, a fourth-year student at Harvard Medical School, who also was not involved in the new study. Moreover, unlike some currently used tests, it readily differentiates immune responses against the two major subtypes of RSV, RSV-GA and RSV-GB. The necklace uses the same technology as radio-frequency identification (RFID) chipssuch as those employed in retail clothing or athletes race bibsand provides health care workers access to a mothers pregnancy history, her childs growth chart and vaccination history, and suggestions on what vaccinations and other treatments may be needed, he says. 7.. We want people to be comfortable, says study author Kevin McHugh, a bioengineer at Rice University. QDs are invisible to the naked eye yet detectable when exposed to NIR light. 0000018201 00000 n This light can come from a bioluminescent protein that produces light via a chemical reaction. 0000035038 00000 n Are we still hesitant? HHS Vulnerability Disclosure, Help %PDF-1.4 % 0000009589 00000 n 0000154938 00000 n The scientists added special protein beads that bind the antibodies with the luciferase-tagged G proteins to the bottom of a plastic test well. Now, a team led by MIT scientists has come forward with a bold proposition that could write a legible vaccination history back into the bodys repertoire. If we dont have good data, its really difficult to eradicate disease, explains research scientist Ana Jaklenec. McHugh et al., Science Translational Medicine (2019), A close-up microscope image of the microneedle array, which could deliver quantum dots into skin. Could dissolvable microneedles replace injected vaccines? Based on the years of experience as a Phys.org medical research channel, started in April 2011, Medical Xpress became a separate website. The grants expand funding for authors whose work brings diverse and chronically underrepresented perspectives to scholarship in the arts, humanities, and sciences. 0000014933 00000 n Epub 2016 Dec 18. But the technology raise several ethical concerns that could stymie its progress. Nanotechnology plays major role in COVID-19 vaccine development The problem is compounded because many vaccines, such as the vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), require multiple doses spaced out at certain intervals. Platform schematic and fluorescent probe. Doctors Warn Side Effects From COVID-19 Vaccine "Won't Be a Walk in In areas where paper vaccination cards are often lost or do not exist at all, and electronic databases are unheard of, this technology could enable the rapid and anonymous detection of patient vaccination history to ensure that every child is vaccinated, says Kevin McHugh, a former MIT postdoc who is now an assistant professor of bioengineering at Rice University. A conspiracy theory falsely claims Bill Gates is plotting to use COVID-19 testing and a future vaccine to track people with microchips. Accurate medical recordkeeping is a major challenge in many low-resource settings where well-maintained centralized databases do not exist, contributing to 1.5 million vaccine-preventable deaths annually. ); sk4px@virginia.edu (S.K. The goal is widespread adoption.. One factor that makes vaccination campaigns in those nations more difficult is that there is little infrastructure for storing medical records, so there's often no easy way to determine who needs a particular vaccine. In parallel, microneedle geometry was optimized in silico and validated ex vivo using porcine and synthetic human skin. 1). The dye, which is. When the patch is applied to the skin, the microneedles, which are 1.5 millimeters long, partially dissolve, releasing their payload within about two minutes. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site. Slider with three articles shown per slide. The microneedles used in this study are made from a mixture of dissolvable sugar and a polymer called PVA, as well as the quantum-dot dye and the vaccine. 0000014977 00000 n MIT researchers trained logic-aware language models to reduce harmful stereotypes like gender and racial biases. 0000019016 00000 n 0000027694 00000 n 5.. Clipboard, Search History, and several other advanced features are temporarily unavailable. "In areas where paper vaccination cards are often lost or do not exist at all, and electronic databases are unheard of, this technology could enable the rapid and anonymous detection of patient vaccination history to ensure that every child is vaccinated," says Kevin McHugh, a former MIT postdoc who is now an assistant professor of bioengineering at Rice University. Luciferase is a real scientific term that refers to an enzyme capable of giving off light when it uses a substance called luciferin An example of this in action can be seen in the natural world with fireflies. Making a technology usable doesnt guarantee itll be used, and there are plenty of reasons why patients might hesitate to sign on to such an unusual procedure. 0000026038 00000 n Knowledge awaits. Biocompatible near-infrared quantum dots delivered to the skin by The assay also found that serum from adolescents had antibodies against G proteins from both subtypes, suggesting that adolescents had been exposed to both RSV-A and RSV-B by that time in their lives. 0000140471 00000 n et al. For now, the patches can only encode a handful of simple shapes. Note: engineers have developed a way to store medical information under the skin, using a quantum dot dye that is delivered, along with a vaccine, by a microneedle patch. Furthermore, Rao and colleagues were able to exploit the fact that quantum dots with distinct emission spectra all have similar absorption profiles allowing all of them to function as luciferase energy acceptors. Science Translational Medicine (2019)]By selectively loading microparticles into microneedles, the patches deliver a pattern in the skin that is invisible to the naked eye but can be scanned with a smartphone that has the infrared filter removed. In order to be protected against most pathogens, one needs multiple vaccinations, Jaklenec says. Terms of Use Although the nanoparticles themselves dont contain medically relevant drugs, the researchers safely delivered them to rats alongside a polio vaccine, which seemed to still confer its protective benefits. To eradicate [diseases] like polio and measles, Jaklenec says, you really need this kind of data..