As part of his MSc dissertation, Carl Mallia, under the supervision of David Magri of the Chemistry Department at the University of Malta, has been designing intelligent molecules that someday could be used to diagnose specific diseases.
Many blood analytes, such as sodium, chloride, glucose and cholesterol, to name a few important examples, are nowadays examined using separate tests. However, using specifically engineered molecules, researchers in the Magri laboratory are designing molecules capable of detecting a congregation of analytes in one single test.
This is called the lab-on-a-molecule concept. For instance, kidney disease is indicated by high levels of potassium, creatinine and urea, which could be directly diagnosed by a single rapid test rather than testing for three disease parameters through three separate tests, followed by analysis of the data by a practitioner.
In the future it is envisioned that lab-on-a-molecule technology could assist doctors by not only measuring the analyte amounts but also by making an intelligent decision in consultation with the doctor.
With the ever-increasing cost of health care for governments, the creation of intelligent molecules for the simultaneous detection of many analytes corresponding to specific diseases may be a solution to reducing the cost of clinical testing, while also reducing the waiting time for results and even speeding up recovery time for patients, said Mallia.
This technology is still at a very early stage of development. Designing and synthesising such complex molecules is only achievable through an understanding of the basic, fundamental science, he added.
More financial support should be given to support fundamental research to allow researchers to pursue new innovative ideas.
The Master of Science degree was carried out with financial support of a STEPS scholarship, which was part-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) under Operational Programme II Cohesion Policy 2007-2013, ‘Empowering people for more jobs and a better quality of life’.