Saturday, July 29, 2017

Now a Microchip for Nonivasive Prenatal Diagnosis by a simple and quick blood test


The researchers have developed a new class of NanoVelcro microchips that are reproducible and faster using nano-imprinting fabrication process. The cells were coated with an antibody to a marker for capturing the fetal cells.

Circulating fetal nucleated cells (CFNCs) in maternal blood are rich source of fetal genomic DNA for noninvasive prenatal diagnostics (NIPD).

The NanoVelcro microchip was developed to effectively enrich a subcategory of CFNCs, i.e., circulating trophoblasts (cTBs) from maternal blood. The researchers then isolate single cTBs cell on the imprinted nanoVelcro microchips with the help of laser capture microdissection (LCM) technique.
cTB-based array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) and short tandem repeats analysis was done to detect fetal genders and chromosomal aberrations.

The team tested the blood samples of 15 pregnant women, carrying a single fetus and accurately determined genetic conditions that were previously diagnosed by other invasive methods in nine of the fetuses.

The paper was published July 19, 2017 in American Chemical Society Journal NANO.

Currently most of the tests available for routine Prenatal Diagnosis are accurate but invasive like amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling. Researchers are looking at ways to isolate fetal DNA circulating in mother’s blood, but it comes in small pieces and the amount is also not adequate to run diagnostic tests.

Whole fetal cells are also present in maternal blood but, we lack ideal methods to capture them for genetic testing. Hsian-Rong Tseng and her colleagues at California NanoSystems Institute, Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles have previously developed a ‘NanoVelcro' microchip assay for capturing circulating tumor cells. So, in this new paper they are looking to apply the same technique for capturing circulating fetal cells.


Photo credit: American Chemical Society

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