Nanopore test could identify misfolded proteins in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease

A high throughput, single molecule test based on nanopores and DNA barcoding has been developed and could help uncover aggregates of misfolded proteins implicated in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. The test could help improves diagnoses of these diseases, as well as tracking their progression.

While the characterisation of harmful oligomers is crucial to developing more accurate diagnoses and breakthrough treatments for diseases that involve misfolded proteins, identifying them in complex mixtures has remained a challenge.

Nanopore sensors have been in the works for several decades and have great potential to detect a wide range of molecules rapidly. ‘[They] enable the detection and quantification of molecules by driving them through a nano-sized opening,’ explains Ulrich Keyser at the University of Cambridge and one of the study’s lead authors along with his colleague Michele Vendruscolo.