Smriti Mallapaty in Nature:
Fischer and his colleagues focused on detecting enzymes called proteases, which break down proteins and are active in tumours, even from the very early stages. They specifically looked at the activity of matrix metalloproteinases involved in chewing up collagen and the extracellular matrix, which helps tumours to invade the body.
To detect the presence of these proteases in the blood, the researchers developed nanosensors containing a magnetic nanoparticle attached to a small peptide that attracts matrix metalloproteinases and a fluorescent molecule. They then placed millions of nanosensors in a tiny sample of blood. If matrix metalloproteinases were present, and active, they would chop the peptide in the nanosensors, releasing the fluorescent molecule. The researchers then used a magnet to suck out all the unchopped nanosensors, and measure how many chopped fluorescent particles were left. The more active proteases were present in the blood, the brighter the sample was.
More here.
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