Type: Prelims Only

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, have developed a cheap paper microscope (foldscope) connected to a smartphone camera that could find wider application in a variety of research areas, and in some cases potentially replace more expensive equipment.

What is Foldscope?

• The Foldscope is a handheld microscope made mostly of paper that can be easily linked to a smartphone camera.
• It has a magnification of around 140x and can identify objects just 2 micrometres wide.
• It was first created by researchers at Stanford University in 2014.
• IISc version of Foldscope costs around Rs 400, much cheaper than that of Stanford’s one.

How is Foldscope comparable to electron microscope?

• The researchers found that Foldscope could capture the roundness and aspect ratio of an object to within 5% of those imaged by a state-of-the-art instrument called a scanning electron microscope (SEM).
• SEM costs more than Rs 50 lakh each.
• Preparing a sample for study through a Foldscope takes less than an hour, whereas the same process for an SEM was “tedious and time-consuming”.

Potential applications

• Foldscopes can be used in pharmaceuticals (to inspect drug products), environmental science (to observe pollutants), and cosmetics (to observe powders and emulsions), among other fields.
• They can also be used to study “soil particles’ morphology,” which can “help understand soil structure, nutrient availability, and plant growth” in agriculture.
• It allows for in-field soil analysis and visualisation of soil structure per Indian Standard Soil Classification System which earlier required bulky microscopes with high resolution.

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There is currently a demand-supply gap of proton beam therapy machines in India, leaving many cancer patients in a difficult situation.

What is Proton Beam Therapy?

• Proton beam therapy is a type of radiation therapy — a treatment that uses high-energy beams to treat tumors.
• Radiation therapy using X-rays has long been used to treat cancers and noncancerous (benign) tumors.
• It uses protons rather than x-rays to treat cancer. At high energy, protons can destroy cancer cells.
• It can also be combined with x-ray radiation therapy, surgery, chemotherapy, and/or immunotherapy.
• Like x-ray radiation, proton therapy is a type of external-beam radiation therapy.

How it works?

• Fundamentally, all tissue cells are made up of molecules with atoms as their building blocks.
• In the center of every atom is the nucleus. Orbiting the nucleus of the atom are negatively charged electrons.
• When energized protons pass near orbiting electrons, the positive charge of the protons attracts the negatively charged electrons, pulling them out of their orbits. This is called ionization.
• It changes the characteristics of the atom and consequentially the character of the molecule within which the atom resides.
• Because of ionization, the radiation damages molecules within the cells, especially the DNA.
• Damaging the DNA destroys specific cell functions, particularly the ability to divide or proliferate.
• While both normal and cancerous cells go through this repair process, a cancer cell’s ability to repair molecular injury is frequently inferior.
• As a result, cancer cells sustain more permanent damage and subsequent cell death than occurs in the normal cell population.

Why in news?

• There is currently a significant demand-supply gap of proton beam therapy machines in India, with only a few machines available in the country.
• This has resulted in long wait times for patients who need the treatment, and many patients are forced to travel abroad to access the treatment, which can be prohibitively expensive.

Various challenges

• Huge demand: The demand for PBT machines is also increasing, as more and more patients are being diagnosed with cancer and are seeking the latest and most effective treatments available.
• High cost: One of the major challenges in setting up PBT machines is the high cost involved, as the machines are complex and require a significant investment.
• Shortage of personnel: In addition, there is a shortage of trained personnel who can operate and maintain the machines, which further limits their availability.

Way Forward

• The government and private sector need to invest more in setting up and maintaining the machines. This could include-

1. Offering tax incentives and subsidies to private healthcare providers who invest in PBT machines
2. Providing training and education to personnel who can operate and maintain the machines
3. Setting up more public hospitals that offer proton beam therapy, which would help to make the treatment more accessible and affordable to patients who need it

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Central idea: Organ-on-a-chip technology has emerged as a new laboratory setup that scientists are using instead of animals to test new drugs.

What is Organ-on-a-Chip?

• Organ-on-a-chip is a microfluidic device that aims to mimic the structure and function of specific human organs or tissues in vitro.
• It is a small, transparent chip made of biocompatible materials such as silicon, glass, or polymers, and contains tiny channels lined with living cells.
• The living cells are derived from human tissues and can be cultured to replicate the microenvironment of the specific organ being modelled.

How does Organ-on-a-Chip work?

• Microfluidic channels simulation: Each organ-on-a-chip contains a complex network of microfluidic channels and chambers that can simulate the mechanical and chemical environment of a specific organ.
• Mimics the blood flow: The microfluidic channels can mimic the flow of blood and air, while the living cells provide a realistic environment for drug testing and disease modelling.

Potential applications of organ-on-a-chip

• Organ-on-a-chip technology has numerous potential applications, including drug development, disease modelling, and toxicity testing.
• By replicating the structure and function of human organs, researchers can study how organs interact with drugs and other compounds.
• This could lead to the development of more effective and personalized treatments for a variety of diseases.
• Additionally, organ-on-a-chip technology provides a more ethical and effective approach to testing drugs and other compounds, reducing the reliance on animal testing.

Examples of Organ-on-a-Chip

Several examples of organ-on-a-chip technology have been developed, including-

• Lung-on-a-chip mimics the air-blood interface in the lungs
• Heart-on-a-chip mimics the mechanical and electrical properties of the heart
• Liver-on-a-chip replicates the metabolic activity of the liver
• Brain-on-a-chip models the blood-brain barrier and neural activity in the brain

Future prospects

• Organ-on-a-chip technology is a promising and rapidly evolving field that offers numerous advantages over traditional drug development and testing methods.
• It provides a more ethical and effective approach to testing drugs and other compounds, reducing the reliance on animal testing.
• Furthermore, it has the potential to revolutionize the field of drug development by enabling more personalized and effective treatments for a variety of diseases.

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