EPSRC logo

Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/S47984/02
Title: Heart Disease Diagnostics: From Clean Room to Kitchen Table
Principal Investigator: Davis, Professor J
Other Investigators:
Cooper, Professor J Livingstone, Dr C
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: School of Science & Technology
Organisation: Nottingham Trent University
Scheme: Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts: 01 April 2005 Ends: 30 November 2007 Value (£): 325,568
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Instrumentation Eng. & Dev. Med.Instrument.Device& Equip.
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Healthcare
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
Homocysteine has long been recognised as an independent biomarker for assessing patient susceptibility to heart disease yet there are no devices suitable for point of care analysis. The technical complexities of extracting this compound in a detectable form from whole blood are manifold. The situation is further complicated by the need to simply the instrumentation and the sampling procedure such that it can be used accurately by biomedical staff (or patients). An intricately designed microchemical approach is proposed that would utilise the direct nanoscale multiprocessing of whole blood samples to yield homocysteine in a form suitable for unambiguous detection. The project would develop a new range of selective molecular tags and extend current microfabrication technologies. These would combine with clinical experience to produce a device that could be used for routine screening purposes. The chemical component will compliment microengineering expertise to enhance the selectivity of the nanoscale separation processes and produce a novel detector assembly that would amplify the tagged homocysteine signal. Fundamental information relating to the various biomolecular interactions within such devices would be extracted such that generic biosensing strategies could be developed. The biomedical applicability of the prototype devices and their relevance to the clinical management of vascular disease would be evaluated through extensive clinical trials.
Key Findings
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Potential use in non-academic contexts
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Impacts
Description This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Summary
Date Materialised
Sectors submitted by the Researcher
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Project URL:  
Further Information:  
Organisation Website: http://www.ntu.ac.uk