The researchers from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) have developed a highly sensitive nanomechanical sensor that can detect cancerous tumours as well as viral disease markers for HIV, hepatitis and herpes.

The sensor detected by the scientists helps in analysing the chemical composition of substances and detecting biological objects. It can also detect viral disease markers, which appear when the immune system responds to incurable or hard-to-cure diseases, including HIV, hepatitis, herpes, and many others. It will enable doctors to identify tumour markers, whose presence in the body signals the emergence and growth of cancerous tumours.

According to the calculations done by the researchers, Dmitry Fedyanin and Yury Stebunov, showed that the new sensor will combine high sensitivity with a comparative ease of production and miniature dimensions, allowing it to be used in all portable devices, such as smartphones, wearable electronics, etc.

"We've been following the progress made in the development of micro- and nanomechanical biosensors for quite a while now and can say that no one has been able to introduce a simple and scalable technology for parallel monitoring that would be ready to use outside a laboratory," the researchers said.

By Lizitha