Researchers from Florida State University, the Scripps Research Institute, and the University of California San Diego have developed a new biosensor for detecting biological markers related to several types of cancer. The biosensor is made of a gold nanoparticle and molecules called peptides that are labeled with a dye. When a patient sample contains a biomarker for cancer, the biomarker breaks bonds in the peptides, separating a fragment with the dye from the gold. Without the gold to absorb the energy from the dye, the sample begins to glow, indicating the presence of cancer.
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