Biosensor for diagnosing pancreatic cancer was developed by | Figure 1

PedroPharmacist

Pharmacist

Biosensor for diagnosing pancreatic cancer was developed by researchers at the São Carlos campus of the University of São Paulo (USP). New method, which has been working for four years, is five times faster than the traditional one, used today and brings the result in eight minutes. Another advantage is financial with lower costs than the traditional one.

The sensor consists of a strip of glass with gold electrodes. Inside the device is a powder based on chitosan, a substance found in crustaceans such as shrimp, capable of identifying AC 19-9 protein, which may indicate the presence of the disease with a sample of just one drop of the patient's blood. "The higher the concentration of proteins in the blood, the greater the risk of developing pancreatic cancer," said researcher Andrey Soares.

The first tests were done with blood from animals and patients from the Hospital de Cancer de Barretos, and the expectation is that they can be performed in other units. "The biosensors that we are developing could be used even inside the doctor's office," he said.

Another advantage is the cost of testing. "The traditional exam costs about R$ 45 and our estimate is that the exam we are developing could cost from R$ 5 to R$ 6 and may be available in two or three years, depending on the investment," said professor Osvaldo Novais de Oliveira Júnior.

Source: University of São Paulo.

Related Research

A research aimed at overcoming the problematic issue of resistance to drugs used in the treatment of tuberculosis has been developed by researchers from five institutions, including Fiocruz Minas. The idea is to use bioinformatics to understand what happens to the mutating bacteria that are mutated and to resist the antibiotics used to combat them, and then to identify them, analyze their effects on the patient's body, and think about new forms of treatment for him. According to researcher Douglas Pires (Fiocruz Minas), one of the main problems encountered today in the fight against tuberculosis is the time doctors take to confirm that the drug is not working. Thus, one of our main objectives is to speed up this diagnosis, identifying the mutations responsible for the resistance as soon as possible, so that the treatment can be reassessed and modified, given the characteristics of the bacterium that is causing the disease. Douglas and one other Australian researcher have created an online platform being fed by a database of England with samples of patients from around the world who have developed resistance to these drugs, including Brazilians. This information will be sent to the University of São Paulo (USP) and to the University of Cambridge, where they will be validated by groups participating in the project. Source: Oswaldo Cruz Foundation.

Researchers at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) are developing a simple, quick and inexpensive method to detect Alzheimer's disease - something unheard of in the world. For Professor Ronaldo Censo Faria, it is very difficult to differentiate Alzheimer's from other types of dementia. Usually, older people tend to have more dementias, 60% of which are related to Alzheimer's. The new test is based on ADAM10 protein, present in blood, and shown to be altered in patients with Alzheimer's and mild neurocognitive disorder, considered a kind of pre-Alzheimer's. The test is done by detecting the presence of this biomarker. The material used has a cost around $ 3, making it feasible to identify different stages of the disease and even a predisposition to Alzheimer's, according to the team. A small amount of blood is treated with magnetic particles that are captured by a magnet. The concentration is determined with a disposable sensor device. The level of the biomarker tends to increase depending on the degree of disease. Another advantage of the new examination is that current methods only detect the disease in more advanced stages. If diagnosed early, Alzheimer's treatment may be able to slow the progression of the disease, although there are still no fully effective therapies. Source: Federal University of São Carlos.

A new biological sensor proved to be able to detect glucose levels in saliva more accurately, more efficiently, and less costly than the conventional blood test. The highly sensitive, accurate and flexible biological sensor was developed by Yan Feng and his team from Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The device is based on an organic electrochemical transistor (OECT), a platform to manufacture biosensors capable of converting biological elements - such as ions, lactose and glucose - into electrical currents, which can then be measured. The challenge for OECT technology, however, had been to create a selective biosensor - which was only sensitive to a specific substance, such as glucose. This is because OTCs also capture electrical currents from other biochemical molecules. The solution found by the team was to construct the transistor using a glucose oxidase enzyme, which is sensitive only to glucose. For this, the enzyme was coated with two types of polymers, to avoid interference of other substances in the saliva, thus increasing the selectivity and sensitivity of the sensor. The team ensures that the new biosensor is almost 1,000 times more sensitive than the conventional method of blood glucose testing. It is also flexible, paving the way for its incorporation into smart fabrics and other dressing technologies. Source: Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Case Studies

A 66 year old male presents with non-specific abdominal pain over the last week. He mentions that he has been gradually losing weight over the past 2–3 months. Abdominal imaging reveals a 3 cm pancreatic mass encasing blood vessels. Biopsy reveals an invasive adenocarcinoma. Further staging tests reveal several small nodular opacities in the right lung. With treatment, the median survival for his stage is estimated at around 4-6 months. CA 19-9 is the best known blood marker for pancreatic cancer. About 10% of people lack the CA 19-9 antigen (aka Lewis antigen), and do not express this protein at all. With the development of genetic tools, researchers have attempted to look at both well known (k-ras, p16 & p53), plus a wide range of DNA mutations and protein patterns that may translate into diagnostic markers or screening tests for pancreatic cancer patients.

Do you use CA 19-9 as a guide to follow tumors and treatment response in a given individual?