Chronic iron imbalances – having either too little or too much iron in
the blood – can result in medical conditions ranging from anaemia and
haemochromatosis through to more severe diseases, such as cancer,
Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Haemochromatosis is one of Australia’s most common hereditary diseases
and the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates approximately
780,000 people live with anaemia.

School of Biomedical Engineering PhD candidate and Sydney Nano
Institute student ambassador, Pooria Lesani, who is undertaking his
studies under the supervision of Professor Hala Zreiqat and Dr Zufu
Lu, has developed a multipurpose nanoscale bio-probe that allows
researchers to precisely monitor iron disorders in cells, tissue, and
body fluids as small as 1/1000th of a millimolar[1].

The test is more sensitive and specific than blood testing currently
used to detect iron disorders, which begin at very low, cellular level
concentrations.

Using novel carbon-based fluorescent bio-nanoprobe technology, the
test, which involves non-invasive subcutaneous or intravenous
injections, allows for a more accurate disease diagnosis before the
onset of symptoms, potentially allowing for the early treatment and
prevention of more serious diseases.

“More than 30% of the world’s population lives with an iron imbalance,
which over time can lead to certain forms of cancer, as well
Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease,” said Mr Lesani from the
Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials Research Unit and the ARC Centre
for Innovative BioEngineering.

“Current testing methods can be complex and time consuming. To counter
this, and to enable the early detection of serious diseases, we have
developed a hyper-sensitive and cost-efficient skin testing technique
for detecting iron in the body’s cells and tissue.

“Our most recent testing demonstrated a rapid detection of free iron
ions with remarkably high sensitivity. Iron could be detected at
concentrations in the parts per billion range, a rate ten times
smaller than previous nano-probes.

“Our sensor is multifunctional and could be applied to deep-tissue
imaging, involving a small probe that can visualise structure of
complex biological tissues and synthetic scaffolds.”

Tested on pig skin, the nanoprobe outperformed current techniques for
deep tissue imaging, and rapidly penetrated biological tissue to
depths of 280 micrometres and remained detectable at depths of up to
3,000 micrometres – about three millimetres – in synthetic tissue.

The team aims to test the nanoprobe in larger animal models, as well
as investigate other ways in which it can be used to determine the
structure of complex biological tissues.

We hope to integrate the nanoprobe into a “lab-on-a-chip” sensing
system – a portable, diagnostic blood testing tool which could allow
clinicians to remotely monitor their patients’ health.

“Lab-on-a-chip systems are relatively simple to operate and require
only small blood volume samples from the patient to gain an accurate
insight of potential ferric ion disorders in the body, assisting early
intervention and prevention of disease,” he said.

The nano-sensors can also be made from agricultural and petrochemical
waste products, allowing for low-cost, sustainable manufacturing.

DISCLOSURE:

The authors acknowledge funding from The Australian Research Council,
The National Health and Medical Council and The Australian Centre for
Microscopy and Microanalysis.

1. Refers to the number of moles of iron per litre of blood.