Grant: Strategic Projects - Group

The goal of the proposed research is to develop a microfluidics and biosensor-based platform for the precise and highly sensitive detection of a key stress-related protein, the heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), in blood. Heatshock proteins are a family of highly conserved proteins synthesized by all organisms and crucial for normal cellular function and for defending cells against stressors. The 70 kilodalton mass HSP (HSP70) is one of the most widely studied member of this protein family and routinely used as an indicator of cellular stress. Recently, several studies in humans correlated blood levels of HSP70 with disease states, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and trauma, suggesting the utility of this stress protein measurement as a biomarker of compromised health. We also found that higher serum HSP70 levels reflect chronic stress in grizzly bears, leading to the proposal of using this protein as a marker of health status for wildlife monitoring. Altogether, this highly conserved nature of the protein, its quintessential role in cell function and survival, and reliability as a biomarker of stress in humans and wildlife, makes HSP70 a key protein with diagnostic value for real-time stress/health monitoring. However, detection systems currently used for HSP70 measurement are time-consuming, labour-intensive and requires specialized equipment, making it unsuitable and unrealistic for real-time monitoring. We propose to develop a Biological Micro Electro Mechanical System (BioMEMS) sensor for rapid quantification of HSP70 levels in blood in real-time. This technology is not currently available for stress protein detection in whole organisms. The BioMEMS sensor platform will be fast, efficient, sensitive, cost-effective and portable and can be used in the field for wildlife health monitoring. The proposed Biosensor platform may also be easily modified to detect other serum protein biomarkers in the future. Overall, development of BioMEMS sensor for HSP70 monitoring will be a key step forward in biomedical technology and will put Canada in the forefront of protein detection systems for diagnosis, and management of human and wildlife health