Nanotech leading to diagnoses by handheld

from the not-yet-a-tri-corder dept.
Gina Miller writes "The Chicago Sun Times Nanotech leading to diagnoses by handheld reports that Northwestern University's Institute for Nanotechnology in collaboration with Nanosphere Inc. are in the midst of developing a hand held device based on nanoparticles, that could give instant diagnosis via bodily fluids. The device is based on nanoparticles that exibit color which along with genetic markers of DNA could together turn diagnosis into color coding detection. The chip that will go on the inside of the handheld, is being developed by Nanosphere Inc. The article also discusses another company, NanoInk and how their work with dip-pen nanolithography could pertain to the color coding aspect by allowing the chip to sample specific sequences in the DNA that the gold particles have color-coded."