Source: BioValley

May 21, 2015 News - UCLA (UniversityofCalifornia, LosAngeles) AydoganOzcan HowardHughes Medical School study group has developed a new technology that allows smart phones can be used as DNA scanning fluorescence microscopy.

In a recent interview BioscienceTechnology, Ozcan describes this new technology. This is a smart phone optical accessories, namely a small 3D print cartridge box including lenses, filters, stents and laser diodes and other components, can be used to measure than a human hair fine of 50,000 times the size of DNA and DNA imaging. After the target DNA is isolated, the first fluorescent labeled. Transfer Windows application software to scan DNA molecule smartphone, and information to a remote server located at the Study Group laboratory, complete measurement of DNA molecular size. The entire data processing can be completed within 10 seconds.

Conventional microscopy bulky, expensive and very inconvenient transport. This new technology not only saves cost, so that telemedicine and mobile health can be achieved, and the use of a network connection to the server of the microscope can accumulate data from the time and space, and a new perspective to observe and understand the trends and the spread of disease.

Smartphone microscope has a wide range of practical uses, such as malaria and tuberculosis diagnostic laboratories, and blood disease or food contamination detection. In addition, it makes a number of conditions can be simple infirmary with advanced detection equipment, but also can reduce the gap between urban and rural areas on a medical condition. In the United States, another purpose is used in patients with chronic diseases and elderly populations, such as patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease patients, they can be tested at home every few hours, these data allow physicians to better track the patient's situation.

But this new microscope can now accurately measure more than 10,000 base pairs of DNA molecules, for less than 5000 base pairs of DNA molecules, its accuracy will be greatly reduced. The researchers said this problem can be solved by using a larger aperture lenses. Next, Ozcan Research Group will use a microscope to test resistance testing in malaria-related, while also testing other new instrument developed by the team, and with the existing FDA-approved laboratory equipment for comparison.