The research team of Professor Yeon-ho Im, Division of Chemical Engineering, has attracted attention by developing a portable nanobiosensor that can easily diagnose cancer and assess its progression using a single drop of blood.

Professor Im's team reported research on the development of a "High-Reliability Multifunctional Nano-Insulator for Chemical and Bio Nano Sensors." The work was published in the April issue of Nano Letters (impact factor 12.2), a leading international journal in nanotechnology.

This study concerns the development of a nanobiosensor capable of real-time cancer diagnosis using a novel heterogeneous coupling technology between inorganic nanomaterials and biochemical substances from the human body, such as blood.

Professor Im served as the corresponding author, with Dr. Hyun-wook Ra of the Division of Chemical Engineering and Jin-tae Kim (Ph.D. candidate) participating as co-first authors. The achievement is more significant because it resulted from multidisciplinary collaborative research among JBNU faculty (co-authors: Professor Yun-bong Han, Division of Chemical Engineering; Professor Jin-ho Park, Department of Veterinary Medicine; and Professor Dae-gon Kim, Medical School).

" height="薊"">

Recent advances in nanoscience and technology have enabled highly sensitive detection of biochemical substances using nanomaterials, and future portable nanobiosensors capable of diagnosing disease status in real time in ordinary households have been developed. However, when blood was applied to nanomaterials for diagnosis, the nanomaterials did not remain stable, making long-term use difficult.

To address this, the team developed, for the first time worldwide, a method to form an insulating coating on nanomaterials using polymers polymerized by low-temperature plasma. This approach allows the nanomaterials to remain durable even when blood is applied, while achieving stable bonding between biochemical substances such as blood and the nanomaterials. Furthermore, by incorporating this technique into a nanobiosensor, they enabled the polymerized material to be maintained in solution for extended periods and succeeded in detecting cancer from the serum of patients with liver cancer.

In particular, the nanobiosensor technology developed by the team can be applied directly not only to cancer but also to various types of viruses. It is expected to bring a breakthrough in disease diagnosis and treatment: in the near future, households will be able to easily detect various illnesses, and medical institutions will be able to perform real-time disease monitoring.

Meanwhile, Professor Im's research team will be featured in Hanbit-sa (People Who Make Korea Shine) of the Biological Research Information Center. The lead author, Dr. Hyun-wook Ra, completed his degree in the relevant field at his home division and is currently working as a principal researcher at Samsung Electronics System LSI.