BIRMINGHAM: Scientists in the UK are trying to develop a flavored lollipop that can be used to avoid painful oral cancer diagnoses.
Currently, the diagnosis of oral cancer is made by inserting a flexible camera on the end of a tube through the nose or mouth for biopsy. This painful procedure requires a lot of time and highly skilled endoscopists. Should be.
The researchers say that the lollipop they created can make diagnosis much faster than traditional methods and could be an alternative to these painful tests.
This lollipop is made from a material called Smart Hydrogel, which was developed by scientists at the University of Birmingham.
The purpose of this lollipop is to transfer saliva from the potential patient’s mouth into the hydrogel.
According to the researchers, this hydrogel (present with saliva) acts like a fish net to capture proteins that may be indicators of cancer. For subsequent protein analysis this ‘trap’ can be cut open to extract the proteins.
Dr Ruchi Gupta from the University of Birmingham said that smart hydrogels have the potential to diagnose oral cancer. They can be molded into any solid form to obtain protein from saliva.
Dr. Rucci said that the scientists are very excited to start the next phase of the project.