Fujitsu Laboratories and Nagoya University have successfully co-developed a new sensor capable of high-speed detection of toxic proteins. The new sensor uses a combination of artificial antibodies (DNA aptamers) capable of capturing toxic proteins as well as a signal converter which converts the “capturing events” of captured proteins into optical signals. The newly developed sensor is capable of detecting toxic protein 100 times faster in comparison to other available methods. By attaching artificial antibodies which inherently have a strong affinity to bond with the target proteins to the tip of a signal converter, to which fluorescent dye was applied, florescent dye darkened when the proteins bonded with these artificial antibodies. Through observing the fluctuation in fluorescent dye, the presence and amount of toxic protein can be accurately measured. The new sensor is targeted to be used for inspection of various shipped foods, such as dairy products. The development was partially founded by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan.
