Sticky Paper Diagnostics
December 4, 2012 | Terry Sharrer
Bioengineers at the University of Washington believe they have developed a new material that could make a wide range of diagnostic tests much less expensive. They used plain paper (as found in any office) and coated it with a low cost adhesive, divinyl sulfone, as a substitute for a nitrocellulose membrane. Proteins, antibodies, DNA, sugars, and other molecules stick to the paper, and in a demonstration, the researchers used a fluorescent ricin to identify the molecule of interest. MORE