Supersensitive Biosensor for Cancer Detection Developed

One of the latest innovations in the field of cancer therapy is the development of a supersensitive biosensor for detecting various sorts of cancers as well as other diseases. This sensor is nearly 1 million times more sensitive as compared to other detectors that have been made to date in order to spot the cancer cells.

This biosensor was developed in a research carried out at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and was led by Giuseppe "Pino" Strangi, professor of physics at Case Western Reserve. The study was published online in the journal Nature Materials.

Nanotechnology: The Secret behind the Biosensor

This innovation is based on nanotechnology and works by detecting a certain enzyme that is produced by the cancerous cells within the body. This enzyme is too small to be spotted by conventional cancer identifying tools.

The device is so small that it can fit the palm of the hand. It works by acting as a sieve for the enzyme produced by the cancer cells. This enzyme is less than 500 Daltons-less than 800 quadrillionths of a nanogram in size. This protein is too small in size and concentration to be easily picked up by various cancer detecting systems in practice. This biosensor has been used to detect protein molecules as small as 244 Daltons.  

Beating All the Odds

A lot of hurdles had to be overcome to increase the sensitivity of this device. The foremost problem that was encountered was that the current cancer detection systems work by using light waves. The proteins expressed by the cancer cells are too small as compared to the light waves and light waves simply cannot pick up the particles that are smaller than their own dimensions. This issue was tackled by employing nanotechnology instead of the light waves in this biosensor.

Another problem was that molecules that are present in dilute solutions float randomly and are highly unlikely to attach to the surface of any detector. To overcome this issue, nanotechnological tools were coupled with microfluidic channel which is made out of a specially formulated material known as “metamaterial”. This metamaterial is extremely sensitive in nature and even when an extremely small particle comes in contact with its surface, it causes drastic localized changes causing the light to be shifted. The amount of light that is shifted depends on the size of the particle.

The Future Prospects

This Supersensitive Biosensor has proved to be a breakthrough and is expected to detect the cancers quite early on, even earlier than the traditional cancer detecting methods used to screen for cancers. It is anticipated that it will help the oncologists in prompt diagnosis as well as in cancer monitoring. It will also help look for resistance of cancer cells.

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By identifying the amount of light shifted by various proteins, starting with various biomarkers for different sorts of cancers, the researchers hope to identify various molecules specific for certain diseases. In this way, this technology will also help in screening and monitoring of other diseases.

There is a lot that is yet to be discovered about this biosensor. This new generation of cancer detection technology has completely changed the landscape for cancer recognition and treatment.