Scientists are developing a new molecule to monitor the drug concentration

Scientists are developing a new molecule to monitor the drug concentration -

Monitoring of drug levels in patients is essential for effective treatment, particularly in cases of cancer, heart disease, epilepsy and immunosuppression after organ transplants. However, current methods are expensive, time consuming and require dedicated staff and the patient's distance infrastructure. Publishing in Nature Chemical Biology , scientists from EPFL introduce new light emitting sensor proteins that can quickly and easily show how the drug is in the blood of a patient by changing the color their light. The method is so simple that it could be used by the patients themselves.

Effective treatment drugs based on the balance between efficacy and toxicity of the drug, which is at the heart of personalized medicine. But as every patient is different from another, which requires constant monitoring to customize the best dose of the drug and prevent side effects or even poisoning. medical methods based on current monitoring techniques that require specialized and expensive devices personnel, and must be performed in diagnostic laboratories far from the patient's point of care. Development, rapid inexpensive methods could improve drug treatment at the bedside or in the patient's home, especially in areas with poor medical infrastructure.

A new molecule to the concentration of drug monitoring

[1945002l'équipe] Kai Johnsson at EPFL has developed a new molecule biosensor that can rapidly and accurately measure the concentration of drug in a patient's system without requiring anything more complicated than a regular digital camera. The molecule is the result of engineering innovative proteins and organic chemistry, and has been shown to work over a range of current drugs for cancer, epilepsy and immunosuppression.

The probe molecule functions by binding the drug circulating in the bloodstream of the patient and changes color accordingly. The molecule itself is comprised of four components. A component is a receptor protein which can bind to target molecules of the drug. The second component is a small molecule similar to the target molecule, which can bind to the drug receptor. The third component is a light producing enzyme called luciferase, and the fourth is a fluorophore molecule which can modify the color of the light of luciferase when it comes close to it.

When there is no drug around the receiver and the like drug molecule to bind together. This brings the fluorophore close to the luciferase enzyme, and the system produces a red light. But in the presence of a medicament, for example in the blood of a patient, the drug molecules bind to the receptor more efficiently and therefore "push" the analogous drug molecule outside. The entire probe molecule system opens, taking the fluorophore away from the luciferase. As a result, light emitted gradually changes from red to blue in proportion to the concentration of the drug.

The physician or patient can record the signal easily by placing a drop of sample, such as blood on a piece of paper, placing in a dark box and photograph with a camera classic. The photograph can then be analyzed by a color measurement software to generate an average measure. By comparing this measurement to a standard drug concentration curve, it is easy to calculate the concentration of drug in a sample or the blood stream of a patient. The detection molecule can be used with virtually any type of medicament, because it is necessary simply to change the receptor protein at one end and the like drug molecule to the other.

successfully tested against the anti-cancer and other drugs

EPFL researchers have called their new class of biosensors "based Indicators drugs luciferase "or LUCIDs. to test their versatility, they developed LUCIDs against six drugs commercially available, including three immunosuppressants, anti-seizure, anti-arrhythmic, and an anti-cancer drug. drugs have been tested with success in vitro, and anti-cancer antibody has also been tested with real samples human blood plasma. the signal every six LUCIDs has been shown to be accurate and very stable, with a duration of more than 10 minutes.

"This system is a cheap, effective solution to the drug dosage customization patients across a range of diseases," said Rudolf Griss, one of the authors. the successful implementation he and co-author Alberto Schena encouraged to develop a startup company to streamline and market innovation. "We envision a simple detector, hand held where the patient can take a pinprick of blood and can have an immediate reading of the concentration of free drug in their system - much like diabetics for glucose are now in blood. "