Patent ID: 8268638

Claim:
A method of detecting an analyte comprising the steps of: providing at least one nanoparticle, wherein the nanoparticle is magnetic; fixing at least one analyte binding molecule to the at least one nanoparticle to form a nanoparticle complex, the at least one analyte binding molecule being capable of binding an analyte; introducing the nanoparticle complex into a circulatory system of an animal or biological fluid within the animal; allowing the analyte to bind to the at least one analyte binding molecule within the animal to form an analyte bound nanoparticle complex; extracting the analyte bound nanoparticle complex prior to detecting the analyte wherein at least one of the acts of introducing and extracting the nanoparticle complex comprises using a magnetic field to move the nanoparticle complex through the skin of the animal; and detecting the presence of the analyte.