A quick and inexpensive test for osteoporosis risk

As life expectancy increases worldwide, age-associated diseases such as osteoporosis are having an increasing impact. Although early detection could help physicians intervene as soon as possible - when treatment might offer the greatest benefit - this type of detection is not yet possible with current osteoporosis diagnostic tests.

Now, Interfibio group in collaboration with researchers from several institutions report in ACS Central Science the development of a biosensor that could someday help identify those most at risk for osteoporosis using less than a drop of blood. 

The device involves an electrode array to which DNA fragments for each SNP are attached. When lysed whole blood is applied to the array, any DNA matching the SNPs binds the sequences and is amplified with recombinase polymerase that incorporates ferrocene, a label that facilitates electrochemical detection. Using this platform, the researchers detected osteoporosis-associated SNPs in 15 human blood samples, confirming their results with other methods.

This development has been so newsworthy the the magazine has released a press release on their website. 

Update: 19/07/2023

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