There’s a better way to monitor and track heart health.
Medical practitioners have vocalized it, scientists understand this, and together many forward-thinking people are working to improve early detection of heart and other diseases.
Where is the technology going and how do we get there? That’s what the team at Graphene Frontiers is working to develop with biosensors based on Graphene Field Effect Transistors (GFETs).
Founded in 2010 out of the University of Pennsylvania Physics department, the advanced materials and nanotechnology company is focused on the development of graphene-based sensors for medical diagnostics applications.
Graphene is a new nanomaterial and the subject of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010. It is the first two-dimensional (2-D) material consisting of a single atomic layer of carbon arranged in a hexagonal lattice and has been called the “Miracle Material of the 21st Century” for its amazing properties, including unprecedented conductivity and strength.
The healthcare industry patiently waits for super sensitive point of care instruments in every physician’s office. The unique properties of graphene enable ultra-sensitive molecule detection at very low concentrations. Dubbed “Six” sensors, the Graphene Frontiers’ exclusive sensor technology utilizes GFETs functionalized with receptor molecules (e.g. antibodies) specific to the biomarker target. The graphene device electrical properties change dramatically upon receptor-target binding events following introduction of analyte. A drop of blood on the graphene-based Six sensor platform could provide a near instantaneous, comprehensive and quantitative biomarker reading with high sensitivity, thus enabling early disease diagnosis.
With widespread adaptation, this approach could drive down healthcare costs as well as increase the rate of disease diagnoses and improve treatments. For heart-related problems, where early intervention is crucial to effective disease management and treatment, this biosensor technology could be a major game-changer.
Punctuated by the work of Graphene Frontiers and other companies, and a ringing endorsement of the medical community, ultra-sensitive point of care diagnostic sensors could become a reality instead of a vision in the very near future.
