Now, researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a new handheld device that can scan for given biomarkers in around one hour, from a single drop of blood. This means that potentially, blood samples could be taken from a finger prick like those used for diabetes, then analyzed right there from a patient’s bedside.
It’s built on an intriguing mechanism, which the team calls functional negative acoustic contrast particles (fNACPs). These cell-sized particles are designed to respond to pressure from sound waves, and can be coated with different materials so that they capture a specific biomarker, like viruses or proteins.