We aim to develop wash-free mix & measure magnetic immunoassays for sensitive, rapid, and point-of-need detection of viruses and proteins. Through our journey, we address fundamental and technological questions on three essential aspects of magnetic assays. We explore novel colloidal synthesis methods to tune magnetic properties of magnetic markers to improve the assay sensitivity. We then design and synthesize different modular polymers to coat our nanoparticles with anti-fouling polymers in order to offer high binding capacity and assay specificity. Finally, we explore and develop novel antigen and DNA/RNA detection concepts based on both clustering and disassembly of magnetic nanoparticles upon binding to targeting analytes. Our immunoassays are generic, applicable to detection of both viral proteins and human antibodies, and thus have very broad impact in containing the ongoing Covid-19 and any new emerging pandemic.
Our ultimate mission is to tackle metrological aspects of magnetic immunoassays such as random and systematic measurement errors to establish quantitative assays and answer the very fundamental question of “to what extent metrology can be applied to biology”?
Dr. Mohammad Suman Chowdhury
PostDoc
I am trying to fish antibody and/or antigen out from diagnostic samples using highly magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and the magnetic particle spectroscopy (MPS) technique within a couple of minutes. Towards this goal, I am synthesizing highly monodisperse MNPs using either Fe or a mixture of Fe and Zn or Fe and Co. Besides, I am synthesizing modular anti-fouling polymers with target specific functionalities to coat these MNPs. I am also aiming to quantitatively detect cell free DNA and micro-RNA from diagnostic samples using the combination of anti-fouling polymer coated MNPs and MPS.
PhD student
After finishing my degree in electrical engineering at TU Braunschweig, I joined the Metrology4Life group as a PhD student in October 2022. My research is focussed on the sensitive detection of disease-specific DNA & RNA sequences with magnetic nanoparticles. The magnetic DNA assays we develop are a promising approach for low-cost and user-friendly testing of diseases. The current concept was designed for the viral genome of SARS-CoV-2 to establish DNA design guidelines, enhancing the assay performance. My next goal is to realise extraction-free assays to enable easy "mix and measure" testing. Once the framework is established, the kit can be adapted to any desired nucleic acid sequence, such as blood-based microRNA for early-stage cancer detection.
PhD student
Rabia Amin completed her bachelor in Chemistry from Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan. After her bachelor, she completed her MPhil in Chemistry from Foman Christian College, Lahore, Pakistan and was awarded with Cum Laude honor and published a research paper based on her Master´s thesis. Rabia joined the JRG Metrology4life in July 2022 to pursue her research on developing novel functional polymers for decoration and bio-labelling of magnetic nanomarkers to realize reproducible and specific magnetic immunoassays.
PhD student
I have studied Precise Measurement and Instrumentation (BSc) in China and Metrology and Measurement technology (MSc) at the TU Braunschweig. Since August 2023, I am a PhD student at the Institute of Electrical Measurement Science and Fundamental Electrical Engineering, Junior research group Metrology4life. My research focuses on coupling magnetic nanoparticles to DNA origami nanostructures to investigate their magnetic response to external magnetic fields and to explore magnetic coupling between nanoparticles at different distances. Furthermore, I work on detecting proteins, aptamers and microRNA by using DNA labelled magnetic nanoparticles.
Master student
In my master thesis, I work on developing DNA based magnetic nanoclusters for magnetic immunoassays. I aim to optimize parameters such as cluster size and capture DNA surface density to improve the assay sensitivity. I apply a rational design of experiments approach to plan my experiments in order to address these questions. I will use different techniques e.g. DLS, ACS and MPS to characterize the magnetic nanoclusters and their building entities. My ultimate goal is to adapt our custom-designed single-core MNPs to our DNA detection assays.