Magnetic probes for in vivo capture and detection of extracellular vesicles
First Claim
1. A body-mountable device comprising:
- a magnetic flux source that, when mounted to an external body surface, can exert an attractive magnetic force on probes disposed in a portion of subsurface vasculature, wherein the exerted magnetic force is sufficient to collect the probes within the portion of subsurface vasculature, and wherein each probe comprises one or more magnetic nanoparticles and includes multiple binding sites that enable the probe to bind to multiple instances of an analyte such that an instance of the analyte that is bound to the probe can further bind to a fluorescent reporter that is separate from the probe;
a sensor comprising a light emitter and a light detector; and
a controller operably coupled to the sensor, wherein the controller comprises a computing device programmed to perform controller operations comprising;
operating the light emitter, during a detection period, to illuminate the probes collected within the portion of subsurface vasculature, wherein the detection period is a specified period of time relative to at least one of a timing of introduction of the probes into a body to which the device is mounted, a timing of introduction of the fluorescent reporter into the body to which the device is mounted, or a timing of mounting the device to the body;
operating the light detector, during the detection period, to detect light emitted from fluorescent reporters bound to instances of the analyte that are bound to the collected probes in response to the illumination; and
detecting the analyte based on the detected light.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Body-mountable devices are provided to detect the presence or status of an analyte in subsurface vasculature of a body by detecting fluorescent reporters that are bound to instances of the analyte in the subsurface vasculature. Such devices further operate to exert an attractive magnetic force on magnetic nanoparticle-containing probes that are configured to bind to the analyte, thus concentrating the analyte proximate the devices by magnetically exerting attractive forces on such probes that are bound to instances of the analyte. The analyte can be an extracellular vesicle that is characteristic of a cancer, and a body-mountable device as described herein could be used to detect such extracellular vesicles in a portion of subsurface vasculature such that a presence or status of a tumor could be determined based on an amount, presence, or other detected property of the extracellular vesicle.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A body-mountable device comprising:
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a magnetic flux source that, when mounted to an external body surface, can exert an attractive magnetic force on probes disposed in a portion of subsurface vasculature, wherein the exerted magnetic force is sufficient to collect the probes within the portion of subsurface vasculature, and wherein each probe comprises one or more magnetic nanoparticles and includes multiple binding sites that enable the probe to bind to multiple instances of an analyte such that an instance of the analyte that is bound to the probe can further bind to a fluorescent reporter that is separate from the probe; a sensor comprising a light emitter and a light detector; and a controller operably coupled to the sensor, wherein the controller comprises a computing device programmed to perform controller operations comprising; operating the light emitter, during a detection period, to illuminate the probes collected within the portion of subsurface vasculature, wherein the detection period is a specified period of time relative to at least one of a timing of introduction of the probes into a body to which the device is mounted, a timing of introduction of the fluorescent reporter into the body to which the device is mounted, or a timing of mounting the device to the body; operating the light detector, during the detection period, to detect light emitted from fluorescent reporters bound to instances of the analyte that are bound to the collected probes in response to the illumination; and detecting the analyte based on the detected light. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method comprising:
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introducing probes into a body, wherein each probe comprises one or more magnetic nanoparticles and includes multiple binding sites that enable the probe to bind to multiple instances of an analyte such that an instance of the analyte that is bound to the probe can further bind to a fluorescent reporter that is separate from the probe; introducing the fluorescent reporter into the body, wherein the fluorescent reporter selectively binds to the analyte; applying a magnetic flux to the body to exert an attractive magnetic force the probes in a portion of subsurface vasculature of the body, wherein the exerted magnetic force is sufficient to collect the probes within the portion of subsurface vasculature; illuminating the probes collected within the portion of subsurface vasculature; detecting light emitted from fluorescent reporters bound to instances of the analyte that are bound to the collected probes in response to the illumination; and detecting the analyte based on the detected light. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification