Nothing (bio)compares 2 U... Mario sits down with Tamlyn Oliver

Biocompare today published a really interesting piece by Caitlin Smith that looks at advances in molecular Dx.

An ever-moving field, the obvious goal is to improve the accuracy of diagnoses to ensure nobody falls through the cracks and receives a false-positive diagnosis and takes unnecessary meds or treatments, or worse still, a false-negative diagnosis, where diseases are missed and which could potentially be a death sentence. The statistics for the number of misdiagnosed cases are, frankly, worrying.

As an addendum to the piece, Mario Blanco chatted with Biocompare editor, Tamlyn Oliver about MetaFluorex, our disruptive material developed to replace the glass slide substrates used in in vitro diagnostics that can improve the accuracy of testing where fluorescence is a key element. =

"Late last year, Nanopec, a precision medicine materials science company based in Tucson, introduced a novel ceramic film that can significantly boost fluorescent signals in molecular diagnostics," writes Tamlyn. "MetaFluorex can help decrease the probability of a patient receiving the wrong diagnosis because the fluorescent signal is too weak or the biomarker concentration too low. The unique substrate can also help reduce reagent use.

"According to CEO Mario Blanco, MetaFluorex requires fewer antibodies to achieve superior signal to noise ratios than comparable diagnostics on modified substrates (including frosted, patterned, nitrocellulose, or dielectric modified glass slides). In initial testing, MetaFluorex enhanced fluorescent signals by 3 to 30 times, depending on the assay, when compared to the glass slides while keeping noise levels down.

"The very small (50 nm), equal size pores in the ceramic film resemble a honeycomb structure, which facilitates forward lensing of the fluorescence signal by acting as nano-waveguides. In addition, the films are made without cytotoxic materials and are safe to use in the presence of living cells."