The research was published in the journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry.
According to the research, existing analogues are much more expensive and can detect inflammation only at later stages.
The development of Russian scientists makes it possible to measure the level of C-reactive protein (CRP) for timely diagnosis and treatment. CRP is a major inflammation biomarker in the human body. It increases as a result of injuries and infections, as well as during the development of some dangerous diseases such as arthritis, atherosclerosis and certain types of cancer.
As SSU explained, the concentration of CRP is increasing in patients who have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Studies have shown that the level of CRP in patients with COVID-19 is directly correlated with the disease: there has been a significant increase in CRP levels in severely ill patients. According to the experts, measuring this biomarker can be a reliable diagnostic tool to predict the severity of the disease.
Director of the Institute of Chemistry of SGU, Professor of the Department of General and Inorganic Chemistry Irina Goryacheva
© Photo : Saratov Chernyshevsky State University
Irina Goryacheva, Professor of SSU's Department of General and Inorganic Chemistry, said that a low concentration of CRP (several micrograms of C-reactive protein in a litre of human blood) could be accurately determined with the help of the obtained markers, what makes it possible to perform diagnostics. According to Goryacheva, the approach has significant potential as a laboratory-based method for determining inflammation markers.
"There are other methods to determine CRP, but some of them can detect only large amounts of CRP (in later stages of diseases), and others are quite expensive," she added.
The study developed a new method of synthesising CRP markers in human blood plasma. It allows the rapid production of gold nanoparticles about 9nm in size, which are coated with a biologically active substance called biotin to facilitate the detection of CRP in the blood. The immunochemical analysis method is used for CRP detection: the developed markers and specific antibodies to CRP interact only with this protein, allowing the detection without complex sample preparation.
As SSU reported, the scientists plan to develop new approaches to detect not only inflammation but heart failure markers as well.