Dopamine, a neurotransmitter in our brains, not only regulates our emotions but also serves as a biomarker for the screening of certain cancers and other neurological conditions.
UCF researchers, led by UCF NanoScience Technology Center Professor Debashis Chanda, have developed an integrated optical sensor capable of detecting dopamine directly from an unprocessed blood sample. This sensor may serve as a low-cost and efficient screening tool for various neurological conditions and cancers, ultimately providing better outcomes for patients.
The study was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and was published this week in Science Advances.
“This plasmonic biosensor is extremely sensitive to low concentrations of biomolecules, which make them promising platform for specialized assays, point of care applications in remote locations,” says Chanda, the study’s principal investigator who also has appointments in UCF’s Department of Physics and CREOL, the College of Optics and Photonics. “In this work, we demonstrated an all-optical, surface-functionalized plasmonic biosensing platform for the detection of low concentrations of neurotransmitter dopamine directly from diverse biological samples which includes protein solutions, artificial cerebrospinal fluid, and unprocessed whole blood.”
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By Eddy Duryea | September 5, 2024