Dr. Jim Felton (Harvard)
Dr. Jim Felton, from the laboratory of Professors Bruce and Barbara Furie, Harvard University, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Felton is using Izon's instrument for studying the role that blood microparticles may have in the formation of blood clots or “thrombi”. The Furie group is a world leader in hematology research, focused on advancing diagnosis and treatment of bleeding and thrombotic disorders.
What are the main research interests of your group?
We are interested in the characterization of microparticles, which are sub-micron sized vesicles shed by cells with membranes identical to that of their originator cells. These particles are commonly found in blood, and have recently become a topic of interest due to observed correlations between elevated blood microparticle levels and diseases such as cancer-associated thrombosis. The small size of microparticles makes analysis with conventional methods difficult, and it is therefore desirable to work with an impedance-based system capable of resolving particles in the sub-micron range. In addition to measuring the concentration and size distribution of the particles, we further seek to identify the subset of microparticles within a general population that express particular membrane proteins thought to play a role in thrombotic events.
How are you using the qNano in your research?
To this end, we are working with the qNano to develop a technique capable of extracting particle type information as part of the measurement process. In one approach that we have pursued, the charge of the particles in the subset of interest is altered through immunochemistry, and the instrument then detects the charge differences. In another method, the microparticles of interest are magnetically separated prior to measurement, after which the size and concentration data of the subgroups is obtained.
Group Research Page:
Center for Hemostasis and Thrombosis Research
