Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur have developed a novel nanosensor that targets cytokines -- proteins that help control the body’s inflammation levels -- and helps in the rapid diagnosis and progression of various diseases in 30 minutes.

Currently used techniques for cytokine detection include enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which although reliable are highly time-consuming. These also require trained personnel and a long sample preparation or analysis time that can take over 6 hours to produce the results.