05/11/2023
New technology for the development of molecular markers
Dr. Georg Johnen , Prof. Thomas Brüning, Institut für Prävention und Arbeitsmedizin der DGUV Institut der Ruhr-Universität Bochum (IPA)
The detection of specific proteins is the focus of many methods for the diagnosis of occupational diseases. The widely used ELISA is a reliable and precise method for protein detection, but it can be very time-consuming. A novel method is now being evaluated at the IPA that can significantly speed up the measurement of proteins and thus also the development of new ELISAs.
Molecular markers
In almost all diseases, changes occur that are not only visible or noticeable externally, but also show effects on the microscopic and sub-microscopic, i.e., molecular, level. In most cases, molecular changes even occur much earlier, before a disease becomes clinically manifest.
These molecular changes are usually also found in various bodily fluids such as blood, urine or saliva, so that they can often be detected there as biomarkers (molecular markers).
Molecular markers can therefore be used for a wide range of medical issues. These markers are used, for example, in diagnosis, early detection, prognosis, determining the best individual treatment or monitoring the course of therapy of a disease. The challenge is to first find the suitable biomarkers for a disease from a large number of candidates and then to develop a sufficiently sensitive method to reliably determine them.
Proteins in diagnostics
Besides metabolic products such as blood sugar, cholesterol, uric acid, etc., proteins are considered the classic biomarkers. From the detection of a SARS- CoV-2 infection to allergens and the early detection of cancer, detection methods, so-called assays, are used that are based on the specific determination of proteins. As a rule, so-called immunoassays are used for this purpose, in which antibodies are used that precisely recognise and bind to their target protein (antigen). In the case of the ELISA method, a detected protein is made visible by a colour reaction catalysed by an enzyme bound to a detection antibody.