Descripción del proyecto
Un control personalizado de los niveles de vitamina B6
La vitamina B6 desempeña una función esencial en el organismo humano. Unos niveles insuficientes pueden provocar graves problemas de salud. De hecho, la insuficiencia de B6 en las personas mayores, alcohólicas o diabéticas está relacionada con enfermedades cardiovasculares, cáncer y accidentes cerebrovasculares. Los sistemas de control existentes de los niveles de B6 no son ni rápidos ni fiables. Además, requieren la participación de un médico, así como un laboratorio, lo cual aumenta tanto el coste como el tiempo de diagnóstico. El proyecto B6VitaStat, financiado con fondos europeos, propone un dispositivo fácil de usar que, con una técnica fiable de bajo coste controla constantemente los niveles de vitamina B6 de las categorías de pacientes de riesgo. El innovador dispositivo ofrece un diagnóstico personalizado de los niveles de B6 y se puede utilizar en cualquier tipo de entorno, incluyendo en países menos desarrollados.
Objetivo
Vitamin B6 is an essential nutrient and part of a well-balanced diet. However, B6 deficiency is often observed in elderly people, diabetes patients and alcoholics and associated with higher rates of cardiovascular disease, stroke and cancer. All these risk populations need a stringent and continuous monitoring of B6 levels. At present B6 detection systems suffer from limited speed, scope, convenience and reliability. These tests require a medical doctor as well as external laboratories with expensive and specialized equipment for analysis increasing the overall costs. We here develop a customized assay for vitamin B6 detection with a desired application as reliable, cheap and easy-to-use point-of-care device. This assay system, termed B6VitaStat, is based on the direct monitoring of cofactor binding into diverse enzyme active sites which will be performed in erythrocytes drawn from blood. Key to B6VitaStat is a tailored probe which mimics the structure of the cofactor. This probe is equipped with a recognition tag allowing to visualize binding to B6-dependent enzymes. The less B6 is bound, the stronger the signal, the higher the overall deficiency. This principle will be incorporated in an easy-to-use device that is based on an antibody printed microarray hallmarked by its cheap and reproducible production. The robust array can be used world-wide including developing countries with less pronounced medical infrastructure. The B6VitaStat team combines complementary expertise including chemistry, engineering and entrepreneurship, which will provide a basis for the envisioned commercialization. Given that B6VitaStat will be the first device of this class we estimate a significant cost reduction compared to current clinical procedures. Overall, we aim to introduce a new device for constant monitoring B6 vitamin status in risk patients and provide a cheap, easy-to-use and reliable method suited for all kinds of applications including those in less-developed countries.
Ámbito científico
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineendocrinologydiabetes
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesnutrition
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinecardiologycardiovascular diseases
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicineneurologystroke
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteinsenzymes
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-POC-LS - ERC Proof of Concept Lump Sum PilotInstitución de acogida
80333 Muenchen
Alemania