Natural calamity and other emergencies often result in the need for blood transfusions . But they also can result in a loss of electricity , which can make it impossible to execute the tests required to define a patient ’s blood character . Now researchers in China may have an alternative : a cheap , rapid ancestry type run made of colour - shift newspaper . They reported their progress in the journalScience Translational Medicine .
Each of the eight rake type has its own antigens and antibody ( either character A or type B ) , which help the immune system defend against unwished intruder . shoot a affected role with uncongenial antigen and antibody causes the resistant system to attack , make a somebody much sicker .
The researcher ’ young descent character trial process by identifying which antibodies and antigens trigger this resistant fire . They combine dyestuff into two solutions , one containing antibody A and one contain antibody group B , and print small squares of the dye mixture onto either close of a long funnies of paper .
Zhang et al . 2017 . Science Translational Medicine .
To test a affected role ’s blood , they squeezed a few drops into the center reservoir . That blood then seeped through the paper , circularise toward the antigens at either final stage . unlike blood type react differently to the antigen , causing the dye to reverse either bluish green or brownish . The intact process hold less than two minute .
The investigator used both their fresh newspaper trial and the current time- and electricity - intensive method to test 3550 dissimilar sample distribution . The minuscule piece of paper was astonishingly on - point , reaching the same end as the electronic tryout 99.9 percent of the fourth dimension .
More experiments are needed before the paper test will be quick for prime meter , but it ’s a very hopeful start . Along with latterly explicate papermicroscopesandpaper centrifugate , this brassy tryout could do a macrocosm of good in the place that need it the most .
[ h / tPopular Science ]
