Silk-based blood stabilization for diagnostics
Abstract
Both research and clinical care often require blood to be collected away from the laboratory setting. Remote collection presents a logistical and financial challenge, as it requires continuous access to portable cold storage. Although there has been a thrust to develop means to bypass the cold chain, available technologies such as dried spots, remain ineffective. Specifically, these methods fail to stabilize labile protein biomarkers against thermal damage. Herein we describe an alternative silk matrix encapsulation technique that overcomes these limitations and can be deployed using a simple air-drying approach. Potential clinical and research applications of this technology are far-reaching, and could ultimately decrease hospital burdens, improve patient compliance to monitoring, and open up new testing options for currently underserved populations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- May 09, 2016
- Source ID
- 10.1073/pnas.1602493113
Entities
People
- Adrian B. Li
- Brooke T. Kahn
- David L. Kaplan
- Dominique S. Michaud
- Fiorenzo G Omenetto
- Jonathan A. Kluge
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Defense Threat Reduction Agency
- National Institutes of Health
- National Science Foundation
- Tufts University