"NANOSCALE: beads sniff tough-to-find toxins"
A biosensor that uses nanoshells � nanoscale hollow beads � may provide the long-sought technology U.S. homeland security officials have sought to sense arbitrary biotoxins. Researchers at the University of Arizona have continued the pioneering work of a colleague to create the biosensors. Made from cell membrane material with embedded ion channels, the biosensors transduce fluorescence in the presence of nearly any agent, from biotoxins to proteins to other difficult-to-sense organics, even those inside a living cell. Because the nanoshells are so small and can work inside a living cell without disrupting normal activities, as many as 100 can monitor as many as 100 different agents.
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