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Survivin belongs to a family of proteins that promote cellular proliferation and inhibit cellular apoptosis. Its overexpression in various cancer types has led to its recognition as an important marker for cancer diagnosis and treatment. In this work, we compare two approaches for the immunochemical detection of survivin through surface-enhanced fluorescence or Raman spectroscopy using surfaces with nanowires decorated with silver nanoparticles in the form of dendrites or aggregates as immunoassays substrates. In both substrates, a two-step non-competitive immunoassay was developed using a pair of specific monoclonal antibodies, one for detection and the other for capture. The detection antibody was biotinylated and combined with streptavidin labeled with rhodamine for the detection of surface-enhanced fluorescence, while, for the detection via Raman spectroscopy, streptavidin labeled with peroxidase was used and the signal was obtained after the application of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) precipitating substrate. It was found that the substrate with the silver dendrites provided higher fluorescence signal intensity compared to the substrate with the silver aggregates, while the opposite was observed for the Raman signal. Thus, the best substrate was used for each detection method. A detection limit of 12.5 pg/mL was achieved with both detection approaches along with a linear dynamic range up to 500 pg/mL, enabling survivin determination in human serum samples from both healthy and ovarian cancer patients for cancer diagnosis and monitoring purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women both worldwide and in Poland. Consequently, ensuring equitable access to diagnostic tests for all populations is crucial, alongside the urgent need to develop new, minimally invasive methods for early cancer detection with a particular focus on metastasis. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as critical regulators of cancer metastasis. This review aims to investigate the potential of lncRNAs as novel biomarkers for breast cancer, focusing on their mechanisms, clinical relevance, and therapeutic implications. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed and Google Scholar databases, targeting publications from 2013 to 2024. Keywords included "lncRNA", "biomarker", "breast cancer", "metastasis", "prognosis", and "diagnosis". A total of 111 articles were selected based on their relevance and quality. Recent studies have identified numerous lncRNAs such as HOTAIR, MALAT1, BANCR, NEAT1, H19, and GAS5 as key regulators of various metastatic processes in breast cancer. They can be both upregulated and downregulated. Clinical studies have shown that abnormal lncRNA expression correlates with poor prognosis, higher metastatic potential, and therapy resistance in breast cancer patients. LncRNAs have significant potential as novel biomarkers for breast cancer metastasis because of their regulatory roles in metastasis-related processes and detectability in body fluids. Further research is essential to validate these findings in larger clinical studies and to develop lncRNA-based diagnostic and therapeutic tools, ultimately improving patient outcomes in breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In breast cancer early detection is associated with reduced mortality and it is essential to identify new biomarkers for early detection and appropriate management of cancer patients with the best response to treatment. Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) have attracted much attention as potential diagnostic, prognostic, or predictive biomarkers due to their high specificity, easy access to non-invasive methods, and their aberrant expression under various pathological and physiological conditions. Have attracted the aim of this study is to investigate the expression profile of intragenic non-coding LncRNAs LCAL4 as a biomarker as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in cancer. Materials and methods: In this research, 62 tissue samples were obtained from patients undergoing therapeutic surgery in Khatam al-Anbia Hospital and the normal peripheral tissue that was removed for prevention was used as a control by Real-time PCR method. Results: The expression pattern of LCAL4 long non-coding RNA gene is significantly different between two groups of healthy control samples and samples obtained from patients with different breast cancer subtypes, Also its expression between samples obtained from different subgroups and different stages showed significant differences. Conclusion: The studied LncRNAs can act as a factor to identify tumor tissue from healthy tissue, and the diagnosis of cancer grades can be different depending on the type of LncRNA. These results can be proposed in the introduction of LncRNA LCAL4 as a new marker in the diagnosis of breast cancer. In addition, by interpreting the results, it can be concluded that these LncRNAs can be considered as influential factors in the process of breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Survivin belongs to a family of proteins that promote cellular proliferation and inhibit cellular apoptosis. Its overexpression in various cancer types has led to its recognition as an important marker for cancer diagnosis and treatment. In this work, we compare two approaches for the immunochemical detection of survivin through surface-enhanced fluorescence or Raman spectroscopy using surfaces with nanowires decorated with silver nanoparticles in the form of dendrites or aggregates as immunoassays substrates. In both substrates, a two-step non-competitive immunoassay was developed using a pair of specific monoclonal antibodies, one for detection and the other for capture. The detection antibody was biotinylated and combined with streptavidin labeled with rhodamine for the detection of surface-enhanced fluorescence, while, for the detection via Raman spectroscopy, streptavidin labeled with peroxidase was used and the signal was obtained after the application of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) precipitating substrate. It was found that the substrate with the silver dendrites provided higher fluorescence signal intensity compared to the substrate with the silver aggregates, while the opposite was observed for the Raman signal. Thus, the best substrate was used for each detection method. A detection limit of 12.5 pg/mL was achieved with both detection approaches along with a linear dynamic range up to 500 pg/mL, enabling survivin determination in human serum samples from both healthy and ovarian cancer patients for cancer diagnosis and monitoring purposes.

Immunoassays (IAs) with fluorescence-based detection are already well-established commercialized biosensing methods, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA). Immunoassays with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) detection have received significant attention from the research community for at least two decades, but so far they still lack a wide clinical commercial application. This review, unlike any other review that we have seen, performs a three-dimensional performance comparison of SERS IAs vs. fluorescence IAs. First, we compared the limit of detection (LOD) as a key performance parameter for 30 fluorescence and 30 SERS-based immunoassays reported in the literature. We also compared the clinical performances of a smaller number of available reports for SERS vs. fluorescence immunoassays (FIAs). We found that the median and geometric average LODs are about 1.5–2 orders of magnitude lower for SERS-based immunoassays in comparison to fluorescence-based immunoassays. For instance, the median LOD for SERS IA is 4.3 × 10−13 M, whereas for FIA, it is 1.5 × 10−11 M. However, there is no significant difference in average relative standard deviation (RSD)—both are about 5–6%. The analysis of sensitivity, selectivity, and accuracy reported for a limited number of the published clinical studies with SERS IA and FIA demonstrates an advantage of SERS IA over FIA, at least in terms of the median value for all three of those parameters. We discussed common and specific challenges to the performances of both SERS IA and FIA, while proposing some solutions to mitigate those challenges for both techniques. These challenges include non-specific protein binding, non-specific interactions in the immunoassays, sometimes insufficient reproducibility, relatively long assay times, photobleaching, etc. Overall, this review may be useful for a large number of researchers who would like to use immunoassays, but particularly for those who would like to make improvements and move forward in both SERS-based IAs and fluorescence-based IAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In breast cancer early detection is associated with reduced mortality and it is essential to identify new biomarkers for early detection and appropriate management of cancer patients with the best response to treatment. Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) have attracted much attention as potential diagnostic, prognostic, or predictive biomarkers due to their high specificity, easy access to non-invasive methods, and their aberrant expression under various pathological and physiological conditions. Have attracted the aim of this study is to investigate the expression profile of intragenic non-coding LncRNAs LCAL4 as a biomarker as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in cancer. Materials and methods: In this research, 62 tissue samples were obtained from patients undergoing therapeutic surgery in Khatam al-Anbia Hospital and the normal peripheral tissue that was removed for prevention was used as a control by Real-time PCR method. Results: The expression pattern of LCAL4 long non-coding RNA gene is significantly different between two groups of healthy control samples and samples obtained from patients with different breast cancer subtypes, Also its expression between samples obtained from different subgroups and different stages showed significant differences. Conclusion: The studied LncRNAs can act as a factor to identify tumor tissue from healthy tissue, and the diagnosis of cancer grades can be different depending on the type of LncRNA. These results can be proposed in the introduction of LncRNA LCAL4 as a new marker in the diagnosis of breast cancer. In addition, by interpreting the results, it can be concluded that these LncRNAs can be considered as influential factors in the process of breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women both worldwide and in Poland. Consequently, ensuring equitable access to diagnostic tests for all populations is crucial, alongside the urgent need to develop new, minimally invasive methods for early cancer detection with a particular focus on metastasis. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as critical regulators of cancer metastasis. This review aims to investigate the potential of lncRNAs as novel biomarkers for breast cancer, focusing on their mechanisms, clinical relevance, and therapeutic implications. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed and Google Scholar databases, targeting publications from 2013 to 2024. Keywords included “lncRNA”, “biomarker”, “breast cancer”, “metastasis”, “prognosis”, and “diagnosis”. A total of 111 articles were selected based on their relevance and quality. Recent studies have identified numerous lncRNAs such as HOTAIR, MALAT1, BANCR, NEAT1, H19, and GAS5 as key regulators of various metastatic processes in breast cancer. They can be both upregulated and downregulated. Clinical studies have shown that abnormal lncRNA expression correlates with poor prognosis, higher metastatic potential, and therapy resistance in breast cancer patients. LncRNAs have significant potential as novel biomarkers for breast cancer metastasis because of their regulatory roles in metastasis-related processes and detectability in body fluids. Further research is essential to validate these findings in larger clinical studies and to develop lncRNA-based diagnostic and therapeutic tools, ultimately improving patient outcomes in breast cancer.

Purpose: To understand the influence of radon on human health in underground microenvironment of iron mine, and find the sensitive detection index of the influence of radon cumulative exposure on human health. Methods: According to National Work Manual of Occupational Radiation disease Surveillance (Survey of Miners with High radon Exposure) and expert consensus on low-dose spiral CT lung cancer screening. Selected 51 underground workers in an iron mine as the observation objects, using chromosome aberration of peripheral blood lymphocytes, micronucleus of lymphocytes, tumor markers of serum and low-dose CT screening of lung cancer as observation indexes. Results: 6 cases with elevated lymphocyte count (11.8%), NSE (neuron specific enolase) elevation detected 20 (39.2%), abnormal detection of SCC (Squamous cell carcinoma associated antigen) 13 (22.5%), Cyfra21-1 (cytokeratin 19 fragment) was detected 3 (5.9%). Chromosomal abnormalities and micronucleus abnormalities were detected 1 (2.0%). Thyroid nodules were detected 10 (19.6%). Low-dose chest CT detection plaques and funicular shadow 21 (41.2%), nodules 16 (31.4%), bulla 9 (17.6%) frosted (2.0%). Conclusion: In this study, based on the survey and monitoring data of miners in a deep mine, there is a health risk with radon exposure in the occupational health of iron ore workers, in particular, radon exposure causes lung cancer risk, which is a public health problem to be solved.

One of the most significant characteristics, which biosensors are supposed to satisfy, is robustness against abundant molecules coexisting with target biomolecules. In clinical diagnoses and biosensing, blood, plasma, and serum are used daily as samples. In this study, we conducted a series of experiments to examine the robustness of all-dielectric metasurface biosensors, which comprise pairs of a highly fluorescence-enhancing silicon nanopellet array and a transparent microfluidic chip. The metasurface biosensors were shown to have high performance in detecting various targets from nucleic acids to proteins, such as antigens and antibodies. The present results show almost four-order wide dynamic ranges from 0.16 ng/mL to 1 μ g/mL for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and from 2 pg/mL to 25 ng/mL for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The ranges include clinical criteria for PSA, 4 ng/mL and CEA, 5 ng/mL. To date, a systematic demonstration of robustness has not been reported regarding the metasurface biosensors. In detecting cancer markers of PSA and CEA in human serums, we demonstrate that the metasurface biosensors are robust enough in a wide target concentrations, including the clinical diagnosis criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular biology applications based on gold nanotechnology have revolutionary impacts, especially in diagnosing and treating molecular and cellular levels. The combination of plasmonic resonance, biochemistry, and optoelectronic engineering has increased the detection of molecules and the possibility of atoms. These advantages have brought medical research to the cellular level for application potential. Many research groups are working towards this. The superior analytical properties of gold nanoparticles can not only be used as an effective drug screening instrument for gene sequencing in new drug development but also as an essential tool for detecting physiological functions, such as blood glucose, antigen-antibody analysis, etc. The review introduces the principles of biomedical sensing systems, the principles of nanomaterial analysis applied to biomedicine at home and abroad, and the chemical surface modification of various gold nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This study reveals the role of Pim-2 kinase in regulating the metabolism and proliferation of multiple myeloma (MM) cells. We believe that our study makes a significant contribution to the literature because, using patient data as well as cell line-based metabolomic studies, we establish that Pim-2 kinase directly regulates glycolysis, energy production, and survival and that Pim-2 is a potential target for MM treatment. Pim-2 kinase is overexpressed in multiple myeloma (MM) and is associated with poor prognosis in patients with MM. Changes in quantitative metabolism, glycolysis, and oxidative phosphorylation pathways are reportedly markers of all tumor cells. However, the relationship between Pim-2 and glycolysis in MM cells remains unclear. In the present study, we explored the relationship between Pim-2 and glycolysis. We found that Pim-2 inhibitors inhibited glycolysis and energy production in MM cells. Inhibition of Pim-2 decreased the proliferation of MM tumor cells and increased their susceptibility to apoptosis. Our data suggest that reduced Pim-2 expression inhibits the energy metabolism process in MM, thereby inhibiting tumor progression. Hence, Pim-2 is a potential metabolic target for MM treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early detection of cancer markers is critical for cancer diagnosis and cancer therapy since these markers may indicate cancer risk, incidence, and disease prognosis. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a type of non-specific and broad-spectrum cancer biomarker commonly utilized for early cancer diagnosis. Moreover, it serves as an essential tool to assess the efficacy of cancer treatment and monitor tumor recurrence as well as metastasis, thus garnering significant attention for precise and sensitive CEA detection. In recent years, photoelectrochemical (PEC) techniques have emerged as prominent methods in CEA detection due to the advantages of PEC, such as simple equipment requirements, cost-effectiveness, high sensitivity, low interference from background signals, and easy of instrument miniaturization. Different signal amplification methods have been reported in PEC sensors for CEA analysis. Based on these, this article reviews PEC sensors based on various signal amplification strategies for detection of CEA during the last five years. The advantages and drawbacks of these sensors were discussed, as well as future challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Recently, biosensors have become popular analytical tools for small analytes due to their high sensitivity and wide analytical range. In the present work, development of a novel biosensing method based on tungsten disulfide quantum dots (WS2 QDs)-Au for rapidly and selectively detecting c-Met protein is introduced. As a proof of concept, M13 bacteriophage-based biosensors were used for the electrochemical detection of c-Met protein as a colon cancer biomarker. Method The M13 bacteriophage (virus), as the biorecognition element, was immobilized on glassy carbon electrodes which were modified by WS2 QDs-functionalized gold nanoparticles. The stepwise presence of the WS2 QDs, gold nanoparticles, and immobilized phage on glassy carbon electrodes were confirmed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and square wave voltammetry (SWV) technique. Results The designed biosensor was applied to measure the amount of c-Met protein in standard solutions, and consequently the desirable detection limit of 1 pg was obtained. Finally, as a proof of concept, the developed platform was used for the evaluation of c-Met protein in serum samples of colon cancer-suffering patients and the results were compared with the results of the common Elisa kit. Conclusions As an interesting part of this study, some concentrations of the c-Met protein in colon cancer serum samples which could not be determined by Elisa, were easily analyzed by the developed bioassay system. The developed bioassay system has great potential to application in biomedical laboratories. Graphical Abstract

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the most commonly used marker of prostate cancer. However, nearly 25% of men with elevated PSA levels do not have cancer and nearly 20% of patients with prostate cancer have normal serum PSA levels. Therefore, in this study, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was investigated as a new tool for detection of prostate cancer from urine. Obtained results showed higher levels of glucose, urea and creatinine in urine collected from patients with prostate cancer than that in control. Principal component analysis (PCA) was not noticed possibility of differentiation urine collected from healthy and nonhealthy patients. However, machine learning algorithms showed 0.90 accuracy and precision of FTIR in detection of prostate cancer from urine. We showed that wavenumbers at 1614 cm -1 and 2972 cm -1 were candidates for prostate cancer spectroscopy markers. Importantly, these FTIR markers correlated with Gleason score, PSA and mpMRI PI-RADS category., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Lipid metabolism appears to play significant roles in the development of cancer. Numerous studies have shown that the evolution of malignancies, including breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers, involves cholesterol in a profound manner. A crucial part in the intestinal absorption of cholesterol is played by Niemann-Pick C1-like 1 (NPC1L1), a cholesterol transporter protein that is widely expressed in the small intestine and liver. The importance of NPC1L1 in tumor prognosis has been demonstrated in investigations in the interim. NPC1L1 also has the potential to develop into a new therapeutic target and a cancer marker. There is, however, no comprehensive review that summarizes NPC1L1's function in cancer. To this end, we outlined NPC1L1's functions in carcinogenesis and treatment, along with resources that can be used to further comprehend the connection between NPC1L1 and tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The FTIR spectra of serum collected from control and prostate cancer patients exhibited no significant differences in absorbance. • Principal component analysis (PCA) did not differentiate between serum from control and non-control patients. • Machine learning (ML) algorithms demonstrated high accuracy in FTIR in differentiating serum obtained from control and prostate cancer patients. • Wavenumbers at 1637 cm−1 and 2851 cm−1 as candidates of FTIR marker of prostate cancer. • Correlation between FTIR marker of prostate cancer and clinical parameters of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer represents the second most prevalent form of cancer in males globally. In the diagnosis of prostate cancer, the most commonly utilised biomarker is prostate-specific antigen (PSA). It is unfortunate that approximately 25 % of men with elevated PSA levels do not have cancer, and that approximately 20 % of patients with prostate cancer have normal serum PSA levels. Accordingly, a more sensitive methodology must still be identified. It is imperative that new diagnostic methods should be non-invasive, cost-effective, rapid, and highly sensitive. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is a technique that fulfils all of the aforementioned criteria. Consequently, the present study used FTIR to assess dried serum samples obtained from a cohort of prostate cancer patients (n = 53) and a control group of healthy individuals (n = 40). Furthermore, this study proposes FTIR markers of prostate cancer obtained from serum. For this purpose, FTIR spectra of dried serum were measured and analysed using statistical, chemometric and machine learning (ML) algorithms including decision trees C5.0, Random Forest (RF), k-Nearest Neighbours (kNN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM). The FTIR spectra of serum collected from patients suffering from prostate cancer exhibited a reduced absorbance values of peaks derived from phospholipids, amides, and lipids. However, these differences were not statistically significant. Furthermore, principal component analysis (PCA) demonstrated that it is challenging to distinguish serum samples from healthy and non-healthy patients. The ML algorithms demonstrated that FTIR was capable of differentiating serum collected from both analysed groups of patients with high accuracy (values between 0.74 and 0.93 for the range from 800 cm−1 to 1800 cm−1 and around 0.70 and 1 for the range from 2800 cm−1 to 3000 cm−1), depending on the ML algorithms used. The results demonstrated that the peaks at 1637 cm−1 and 2851 cm−1 could serve as a FTIR marker for prostate cancer in serum samples. Furthermore, the correlation test indicated a clear correlation between these two wavenumbers and four of the five clinical parameters associated with prostate cancer. However, the relatively small number of samples collected only from patients over the age of 60 indicated that the results should be further investigated using a larger number of serum samples collected from a mean age range. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the potential of FTIR for the detection of prostate cancer in serum samples, highlighting the presence of distinctive spectroscopic markers associated with the analysed cancer type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heterogeneity of cancer cells, in part maintained via the expression of multiple isoforms, introduces significant challenges in designing effective therapeutic approaches. In this regard, isoforms of the immune checkpoint HLA-G have been found in most of the tumors analyzed, such as ccRCC, the most common human renal malignancy. In particular, HLA-G∆α1, which is the only HLA-G isoform described that lacks the α1 extracellular domain, has been newly identified in ccRCC and now here in trophoblasts. Using a cellular model expressing HLA-G∆α1, we have uncovered its specific and overlapping functional roles, relative to the main HLA-G isoform, i.e., the full-length HLA-G1. We found that HLA-G∆α1 has several particular features: (i) although possessing the α3 domain, it does not associate with β2-microglobulin; (ii) it may not present peptides to T cells due to absence of the peptide-binding groove; and (iii) it exerts immune-stimulatory activity towards peripheral blood NK and T cells, while all known isoforms of HLA-G are immune-inhibitory checkpoint molecules. Such immune-stimulatory properties of HLA-G∆α1 on the cytotoxic function of peripheral blood NK cells are individual dependent and are not exerted through the interaction with the known HLA-G receptor, ILT2. Importantly, we are faced here with a potential antitumor effect of an HLA-G isoform, opposed to the pro-tumor properties described for all other HLA-G isoforms, which should be taken into account in future therapeutic designs aimed at blocking this immune checkpoint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recently, biosensors have become popular analytical tools for small analytes due to their high sensitivity and wide analytical range. In the present work, development of a novel biosensing method based on tungsten disulfide quantum dots (WS2 QDs)-Au for rapidly and selectively detecting c-Met protein is introduced. As a proof of concept, M13 bacteriophage-based biosensors were used for the electrochemical detection of c-Met protein as a colon cancer biomarker. Method: The M13 bacteriophage (virus), as the biorecognition element, was immobilized on glassy carbon electrodes which were modified by WS2 QDs-functionalized gold nanoparticles. The stepwise presence of the WS2 QDs, gold nanoparticles, and immobilized phage on glassy carbon electrodes were confirmed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and square wave voltammetry (SWV) technique. Results: The designed biosensor was applied to measure the amount of c-Met protein in standard solutions, and consequently the desirable detection limit of 1 pg was obtained. Finally, as a proof of concept, the developed platform was used for the evaluation of c-Met protein in serum samples of colon cancer-suffering patients and the results were compared with the results of the common Elisa kit. Conclusions: As an interesting part of this study, some concentrations of the c-Met protein in colon cancer serum samples which could not be determined by Elisa, were easily analyzed by the developed bioassay system. The developed bioassay system has great potential to application in biomedical laboratories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Combination of different cancer markers is often used for predicting tumor growth, for the response to cancer therapy, and for increase in the positive diagnosis ratio in the malignant tumors. OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of the diagnostic efficacy of CA 15-3 and CA-62 cancer markers combination for early stages of breast cancer (BC) detection. METHODS: This blind study was performed on 2 clinically validated Sets that included serum measurements of CA 15-3 ELISA and CLIA-CA-62 assays in 488 serum samples with TNM classification. A study included 300 BC patients (254 at Stages I and II, 20 with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), and 26 Stages III and IV patients), 47 patients with breast benign diseases, and 141 healthy controls. RESULTS: Sensitivity for DCIS & Stage I breast cancer detection was 75% at 100% Specificity (AUC = 0.895) using a following combination of two antigens: 10 < CA15-3 < 46 U/ml and CA-62 ⩾ 6300 U/ml, which allows eliminating false positive results. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained in a blind study demonstrate that a combination of CA15-3 with CA-62 yields 75% Sensitivity at 100% Specificity for DCIS and Stage I breast cancer detection, which has a potential to be integrated into existing screening programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identification of cancer-specific methylation of DNA released by tumours can be used for non-invasive diagnostics and monitoring. We previously reported in silico identification of DNA methylation loci specifically hypermethylated in common human cancers that could be used as epigenetic biomarkers. Using DNA methylation specific qPCR we now clinically tested a group of these cancer-specific loci on cell-free DNA (cfDNA) extracted from the plasma fraction of blood samples from healthy controls and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. These DNA methylation biomarkers distinguish lung cancer cases from controls with high sensitivity and specificity (AUC = 0.956), and furthermore, the signal from the markers correlates with tumour size and decreases after surgical resection of lung tumours. Presented observations suggest the clinical value of these DNA methylation biomarkers for NSCLC diagnostics and monitoring. Since we successfully validated the biomarkers using independent DNA methylation data from multiple additional common carcinoma cohorts (bladder, breast, colorectal, oesophageal, head and neck, pancreatic or prostate cancer) we predict that these DNA methylation biomarkers will detect additional carcinoma types from plasma samples as well.

One of the most significant characteristics, which biosensors are supposed to satisfy, is robustness against abundant molecules coexisting with target biomolecules. In clinical diagnoses and biosensing, blood, plasma, and serum are used daily as samples. In this study, we conducted a series of experiments to examine the robustness of all-dielectric metasurface biosensors, which comprise pairs of a highly fluorescence-enhancing silicon nanopellet array and a transparent microfluidic chip. The metasurface biosensors were shown to have high performance in detecting various targets from nucleic acids to proteins, such as antigens and antibodies. The present results show almost four-order wide dynamic ranges from 0.16 ng/mL to 1 μg/mL for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and from 2 pg/mL to 25 ng/mL for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The ranges include clinical criteria for PSA, 4 ng/mL and CEA, 5 ng/mL. To date, a systematic demonstration of robustness has not been reported regarding the metasurface biosensors. In detecting cancer markers of PSA and CEA in human serums, we demonstrate that the metasurface biosensors are robust enough in a wide target concentrations, including the clinical diagnosis criteria.

Molecular biology applications based on gold nanotechnology have revolutionary impacts, especially in diagnosing and treating molecular and cellular levels. The combination of plasmonic resonance, biochemistry, and optoelectronic engineering has increased the detection of molecules and the possibility of atoms. These advantages have brought medical research to the cellular level for application potential. Many research groups are working towards this. The superior analytical properties of gold nanoparticles can not only be used as an effective drug screening instrument for gene sequencing in new drug development but also as an essential tool for detecting physiological functions, such as blood glucose, antigen-antibody analysis, etc. The review introduces the principles of biomedical sensing systems, the principles of nanomaterial analysis applied to biomedicine at home and abroad, and the chemical surface modification of various gold nanoparticles.

The MTH1 (NUDT1) gene, because it is frequently upregulated in many types of human cancers, has been considered a general marker of carcinogenesis for over two decades. The MTH1 protein hydrolyzes the oxidized mutagenic DNA precursor, 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine 5′-triphosphate (8-oxo-dGTP), to the corresponding 5′-monophosphate and inorganic pyrophosphate. This prevents its incorporation into DNA by DNA polymerases and protects cells from the accumulation of 8-oxo-dGTP-induced point mutations. Elevated MTH1 mRNA and protein in many types of human cancer indicate a worse prognosis. However, the enzymatic activity of MTH1 has remained largely uninvestigated in this context. Therefore, we have set out to determine the specific 8-oxo-dGTPase activity of MTH1 in 57 pairs of human colorectal cancers (CRC) and adjacent cancer-free tissues (CFCF). The goal was to ascertain the potential for measuring this enzymatic activity as a way to differentiate cancerous from non-cancerous specimens of the intestine, as well as defining its capabilities as a prognostic value for disease-free survival. We found that 79% of CRC tumors exhibited a higher MTH1 activity than did CFCF, with a significant 1.6-fold increase in overall median value (p < 1E-6). The 8-oxo-dGTPase in both tissues was proportional to the corresponding levels of MTH1 protein, as assayed by Western blotting. Activity higher than the ROC-optimized threshold (AUC = 0.71) indicated cancerous tissue, with a 54% sensitivity and an 83% specificity. Postoperative fate followed for up to 100 months showed that higher 8-oxo-dGTPase, in either the CFCF or the CRC tumor, clearly lowered the probability of a relapse-free survival, although borderline statistical significance (p < 0.05) was crossed only for the CFCF. [Display omitted] • 8-oxo-dGTPase activity of MTH1 protein is elevated in human colorectal cancer. • 8-oxo-dGTPase activity detects CRC tumor with 54% sensitivity and 83% specificity. • Higher 8-oxo-dGTPase activity in the colon of CRC patient indicates worse prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • We sought cysteamine for its potential application in treating cystinosis, a genetic disorder marked by lysosomal cystine accumulation. • We have looked into the possibility of molecular doping to activate PL from hBN in the visible red spectrum. • Exploring molecular doping for hBN, we observed blue fluorescence in the visible red spectrum when doping hBN nanosheets with W metal. • The interaction between hBNW and cysteamine, reduces fluorescence, increasing hBNW's sensitivity and specificity for detecting cysteamine. We propose an ultrasensitive and cost-effective novel fluorometric approach for effective detection of cysteamine/cancer marker. The synthesis of the 2D nanomaterial is accomplished via the solvothermal process using the ultrasound system which is termed as the two dimensional solvothermal synthesis of ultrasound (2D-STSUS). 2D Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has emerged as a promising material for sensing applications due to its exceptional properties like broad bandgap and high thermal stability makes it ideal for application in a wide range of sensors and biosensors. Since hBN cannot effectively absorb or emit light because of broad band gap, it cannot produce fluorescence. On the contrary, using W-doped hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (hBNW), we were able to successfully increase the method's selectivity, sensitivity, and easy usage by fusing the unique properties of W metal with hBN. For the first time, hBNW nanosheets exhibited a clear blue color transition and were effectively employed to detect varied levels of cysteamine in human urine and aqueous samples. When combined with hBNW nanosheets, cysteamine has excellent outcomes among other drugs and neurotransmitters. The linearity value R2 = 0.9991 for aqueous was observed in the range of 1 nM to 28 nM and the detection limit was 0.0936 nM under ideal conditions. Additionally, quantification tests were conducted on human serum and urine samples for real sample analysis, yielding R2 values of 0.9961 and 0.9958, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noble metal nanostructures with designed hot spots have been widely investigated as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)-active substrates, particularly for selective and sensitive detection of protein cancer markers. For specific target recognition and efficient signal amplification, SERS probe design requires a choice of SERS-active nanostructures as well as their controlled functionalization with Raman dyes and target recognition entities such as antibodies. However, the chemical conjugation of antibodies and Raman dyes to SERS substrates has rarely been discussed to date, despite their substantial roles in detection schemes. The interfacial interactions of metal nanostructures with functional ligands during conjugation are known to be strongly influenced by the various chemical and physical properties of the ligands, such as size, molecular weight, surface charge, 3-dimensional structures, and hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity. In this review, we discuss recent developments in the design of SERS probes over the last 4 years, focusing on their conjugation chemistry for functionalization. A strong preference for covalent bonding is observed with Raman dyes having simpler molecular structures, whereas more complicated ones are non-covalently adsorbed. Antibodies are both covalently and non-covalently bonded to nanostructures, depending on their activity in the SERS probes. Considering that ligand conjugation is highly important for chemical stability, biocompatibility, and functionality of SERS probes, this review is expected to expand the understanding of their interfacial design, leading to SERS as one of the most promising spectroscopic analytical tools for the early detection of protein cancer markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has a poor prognosis. Targeted therapy and immunotherapy in recent years has significantly improved NSCLC patient outcome. In this study, we employed cell-by-cell immune and cancer marker profiling of the primary tumor cells to investigate possible signatures that might predict the presence or absence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs). We performed a comprehensive study on 10 NSCLC patient tissue samples with paired blood samples. The solid tissue biopsy samples were dissociated into single cells by non-enzymatic tissue homogenization and stained with a total 25 immune, cancer markers and DNA content dye and analyzed with high-parameter flow cytometry. CTCs were isolated and analyzed from the paired peripheral blood. We investigated a total of 74 biomarkers for their correlation with CTC number. Strong correlations were observed between CTC number and the frequency of immune checkpoint marker expressing lymphocytes (CTLA-4, LAG3, TIM3, PD-1), within the CD103+CD4+ T lymphocyte subset. CTC number is also correlated with the frequency of PD-L1 expressing cancer cells and cancer cell DNA content. In contrast, CTC number inversely correlated to the frequency of CD44+E-cadherin− cancer cells. Unsupervised clustering analysis based on the biomarker analysis separated the CTC negative patients from the CTC positive patients. Profiling multiple immune and cancer markers on cancer samples with multi-parametric flow cytometry allowed us to obtain protein expression information at the single cell level. Clustering analysis of the proteomic data revealed a signature driven by checkpoint marker expression on CD103+CD4+ T cells that could potentially be predictive of CTCs and targets of therapy.

In a periodical medical checkup, a 39-year-old Mongolian underground miner was diagnosed with silicosis based on chest radiography, computed tomography (CT), and work history. Chest radiography showed diffuse bilateral rounded nodules in both lung fields, with upper lobe dominance and large opacities in the right upper zone. Chest CT presented conglomerated massive changes in the right upper lobe and the coalescence of small nodules in the left upper lung. In the blood test, serum levels of the lung cancer marker neuron-specific enolase (NSE) were elevated (24.58 ng/mL). Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cytokeratin 19 fragment (CYFRA 21-1) levels were within the reference range. Subsequent to the suspicion of a tumour in the right upper lobe, a right upper lobectomy was performed. The histopathological examination of the lung specimen revealed the coalescence of numerous silica nodules, accompanied by indications of associated sarcoidosis. The histological features suggested the presence of two concurrent pathological processes: silicosis and sarcoidosis. This case demonstrated the combination of three clinical conditions diagnosed in one patient, including complicated silicosis associated with sarcoidosis and elevated serum NSE levels. This case report may serve as a foundation for future investigations exploring the potential of NSE as a marker for silicosis., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2024, Davaajav et al.)

Cancer-specific DNA methylation from the tumor derived fraction of cell free DNA found in blood samples could be used for minimally invasive detection and monitoring of cancer. The knowledge of marker regions with cancer-specific DNA methylation is necessary to the success of such a process. We analyzed the largest cancer DNA methylation dataset available—TCGA Illumina HumanMethylation450 data with over 8,500 tumors—in order to find cancer-specific DNA methylation markers for most common human cancers. First, we identified differentially methylated regions for individual cancer types and those were further filtered against data from normal tissues to obtain marker regions with cancer-specific methylation, resulting in a total of 1,250 hypermethylated and 584 hypomethylated marker CpGs. From hypermethylated markers, optimal sets of six markers for each TCGA cancer type were chosen that could identify most tumors with high specificity and sensitivity [area under the curve (AUC): 0.969-1.000] and a universal 12 marker set that can detect tumors of all 33 TCGA cancer types (AUC >0.84). In addition to hundreds of new DNA methylation markers, our approach also identified markers that are in current clinical use, SEPT9 and GSTP1, indicating the validity of our approach and a significant potential utility for the newly discovered markers. The hypermethylated markers are linked to polycomb associated loci and a significant fraction of the discovered markers is within noncoding RNA genes; one of the best markers is MIR129-2. Future clinical testing of herein discovered markers will confirm new markers that will improve minimally invasive diagnosis and monitoring for multiple cancers.

Origanum majorana (OM) is known to have antioxidant properties. The present work was designed to evaluate, for the first time, the hepato/nephroprotective, immunomudulatory and antibacterial potentials of OM leaves acetone extract (OMLE). OML was collected from Al-Soudah, Aseer, Saudi Arabia, and OMLE was prepared. Active biomolecules were screened utilizing FT-IR spectroscopy, protein electrophoresis and HPLC. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured using ELISA. Male rats were treated with OMLE and livers, kidneys and sera were collected. Liver enzymes, kidney function markers, antioxidants in liver and kidney tissues and tumor markers were quantitated. OMLE immunomodulatory potentials were tested using rat splenocytes. Antimicrobial power was tested against Gram negative/positive bacteria. The extract contained many functional biomolecules and ROS but no sugars and proteins. OMLE treatment did not affect liver and kidney functions or the tumor markers. There were some changes in measured antioxidant biomolecules. The extract is not harmful to hepatocytes as indicated by levels of AST and ALT. It is not carcinogenic as it did not make any changes in tumor marker levels. The extract could modulate the splenocytes. The use of OMLE is useful in protecting normal vital organs from oxidative stress. It can also be used as immunostimulant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identification of cancer-specific methylation of DNA released by tumours can be used for non-invasive diagnostics and monitoring. We previously reported in silico identification of DNA methylation loci specifically hypermethylated in common human cancers that could be used as epigenetic biomarkers. Using DNA methylation specific qPCR we now clinically tested a group of these cancer-specific loci on cell-free DNA (cfDNA) extracted from the plasma fraction of blood samples from healthy controls and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. These DNA methylation biomarkers distinguish lung cancer cases from controls with high sensitivity and specificity (AUC = 0.956), and furthermore, the signal from the markers correlates with tumour size and decreases after surgical resection of lung tumours. Presented observations suggest the clinical value of these DNA methylation biomarkers for NSCLC diagnostics and monitoring. Since we successfully validated the biomarkers using independent DNA methylation data from multiple additional common carcinoma cohorts (bladder, breast, colorectal, oesophageal, head and neck, pancreatic or prostate cancer) we predict that these DNA methylation biomarkers will detect additional carcinoma types from plasma samples as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A competitive electrochemical aptasensor based on a cDNA-ferrocene/MXene probe is used to detect the breast cancer marker Mucin1 (MUC1). MXene (Ti 3 C 2) nanosheets with excellent electrical conductivity and large specific surface area are selected as carriers for aptamer probes. The ferrocene-labeled complementary DNA (cDNA-Fc) is first bound on the surface of MXene to form a cDNA-Fc/MXene probe. Then, the MUC1 aptamer is fixed to the electrode by Au–S bonds. The sensing electrode is named Apt/Au/GCE. After the probe is complementary to the aptamer, a cDNA-Fc/MXene/Apt/Au/GCE aptasensor is fabricated. When the aptasensor is used for detection of MUC1, a competitive process happens between the cDNA-ferrocene/MXene probe and MUC1, which makes cDNA-Fc/MXene probe detach from the sensing electrode, resulting in a decrease in electrical signal. The difference in the corresponding peak current before and after the competition can be used to indicate the quantitative change in bound MUC1. The proposed competitive electrochemical aptasensor gives a wide linear range of 1.0 pM–10 μM and a low detection limit of 0.33 pM (S/N = 3), which is promising for clinical diagnosis. Image 1 • An electrochemical aptasensor for detection of Mucin1 was developed. • MXene was severed as nanocarrier for cDNA-ferrocene probe. • The competitive recognition was utilized for the Mucin1 detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A paradigm shift is currently underway on the relationship between cancer treatment markers and therapies. Labyrinthin is a prime example of such a marker because it is a pan-cancer target for adenocarcinomas. This movement supports the idea that we must change our thinking from various cancer types (eg, lung, breast, colon) to "cancer arising" in a given tissue or organ. In doing so, this would further support the efforts toward pan-treatments rather than organ-specific treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exosomes, which are nano-vesicles produced by most cell types, play an irreplaceable role in cell-cell communication. They are extracellular small vesicles that can delivery various cargos of DNA, RNAs, proteins, and lipids. Because exosomes have different secretory components under physiological conditions and pathological conditions, it has been extensively studied in the field of diseases as a therapeutic target, as a drug/gene delivery vector and as a novel cancer marker. Despite the great development in recent decades, there are still many obstacles to be overcome, for example, the separation method is not standardized with low yield and poor stability, which limit its medical application. This review mainly summarizes the main progresses of isolation and identification techniques, diversity function and medical application of exosomes in recent years. Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer‐associated glycosphingolipids have been used as markers for diagnosis and targets for immunotherapy of malignant tumors. Recent progress in the analysis of their implications in the malignant properties of cancer cells revealed that cancer‐associated glycosphingolipids are not only tumor markers, but also functional molecules regulating various signals introduced by membrane microdomains, lipid rafts. In particular, a novel approach, enzyme‐mediated activation of radical sources combined with mass spectrometry, has enabled us to clarify the mechanisms by which cancer‐associated glycosphingolipids regulate cell signals based on the interaction with membrane molecules and formation of molecular complexes on the cell surface. Novel findings obtained from these approaches are now providing us with insights into the development of new anticancer therapies targeting membrane molecular complexes consisting of cancer‐associated glycolipids and their associated membrane molecules. Thus, a new era of cancer‐associated glycosphingolipids has now begun. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Transplant recipients have a significantly greater incidence of cancer, compared with the general population, who are referred to immunosuppressive therapy as an additional malignancy risk factor. Therefore, there is a need to search for an easy in clinical practice neoplasm predictor, especially for this group of patients. Material and Methods A group of 74 (43M and 31F; aged 46.8 ± 12 years) kidney transplant recipients was investigated in a three-year follow-up study. During the time of observation, 7 patients were diagnosed with neoplasm (7.4 ± 1.5 years after transplantation). A serum level of IL2 (ELISA test) and mRNA level of IL1beta, IL10 and TNFalfa in peripheral mononuclear blood cells – PBMCs (QRT – PCR method) were measured in every year of observation. Analysis of variances and t-Student test were used in groups mean comparison: N – patients developing malignant neoplasm group (24 probes); M – set of probes from patients with malignancies at the moment of diagnosis (11 probes); P – set of probes from patients before developing malignant neoplasm (10 probes); C – control group of healthy transplant recipients (31 probes). Results Among the analyzed agents, only serum IL2 level differed between the analyzed groups, with higher values in the M compared with the P group (p

Objective: The research aim is analyzing and identify reliable genetic markers of breast cancer risk in the Kazakh population., Methods: The databases were analyzed with the selection of polymorphisms associated with the development of breast cancer and further genotypic study of a group of women with a confirmed diagnosis of breast adenocarcinoma (group No. 1) and a group of relatively healthy women (group No. 2)., Result: The research presents the results of a study on the frequency of certain single-nucleotide polymorphisms in patients with breast cancer in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The frequency of single-nucleotide polymorphisms rs4646, rs1065852, rs4244285, rs67376798, rs6504950, rs2229774, rs1800056, rs16942, rs4987047 is statistically significant compared to the control group of patients. These polymorphisms in the Kazakh population have a direct association with an increased risk of breast cancer in women and may be used as cancer indicators during the genetic screening of patients with a complicated family history. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms such as rs55886062, rs3918290, rs12721655, rs4987117, rs2229774, rs11203289, rs137852576, rs11571833, rs80359062 and rs11571746 were found in more than 40. Zero percent of patients with breast cancer may be used as markers for detecting patients at increased risk of breast malignancy in the Kazakh population without a history of poor family history., Conclusion: The usage of the data obtained in a set of state programs for early screening of patients will improve the rates of early breast tumor detection, form groups of patients with a high risk of disease development and improve the quality and expectancy of life.

Background: Risk-adjusted treatment has led to outstanding improvements of the remission and survival rates of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Nevertheless, overtreatment-related toxicity and resistance to therapy have not been fully prevented. In the present study, we evaluated for the first time the clinical impact of the apoptosis-related BCL2L12 gene in prognosis and risk stratification of BFM-treated childhood ALL. Methods: Bone marrow specimens were obtained from childhood ALL patients upon disease diagnosis and the end-of-induction (EoI; day 33) of the BFM protocol, as well as from control children. Following total RNA extraction and reverse transcription, BCL2L12 expression levels were determined by qPCR. Patients' cytogenetics, immunophenotyping and minimal residual disease (MRD) evaluation were performed according to the international guidelines. Results: BCL2L12 expression was significantly increased in childhood ALL and correlated with higher BCL2/BAX expression ratio and favorable disease markers. More importantly, BCL2L12 expression was associated with disease remission, while the reduced BCL2L12 expression was able to predict patients' poor response to BFM therapy, in terms of M2-M3 response and MRD≥0.1% on day 15. The survival analysis confirmed the significantly higher risk of the BFM-treated patients underexpressing BCL2L12 at disease diagnosis for early relapse and worse survival. Lastly, evaluation of BCL2L12 expression clearly strengthened the prognostic value of the established disease prognostic markers, leading to superior prediction of patients' outcome and improved specificity of BFM risk stratification. Conclusions: The expression levels of the apoptosis-related BCL2L12 predict response to treatment and survival outcome of childhood ALL patients receiving BFM chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) has become one of the most common cancers worldwide and the fifth most prevalent cancer in China with an upward trend in incidence rates. Altered glycosylation significantly affects the structural and functional changes in immunoglobulin G (IgG) and was consequently associated with disease progression. In this study, we explored the association of glycosylation with CRC prognosis through characterizing serum IgG N -glycans derived from individuals consisting of normal, benign colorectal and CRC cohorts in discovery set. Statistical analysis showed nine of IgG N -glycans were differentially expressed in disease groups compared with controls. Additionally, five out of them were still significantly changed in CRC patients at all tumor node metastasis (TNM) stages as compared with controls. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated obvious differentiation of benign and cancer patients from normal individuals. Further diagnostic performance of receiver operator curve (ROC) analysis demonstrated at least moderately accurate area under the curve (AUC) score with preferable sensitivity and specificity, suggesting these five IgG N -glycans were probably correlated with CRC progression. Significantly, this result has been verified in validation set. Moreover, IgG N -glycosylation analysis suggested that core-fucosylation, sialylation and sialo core-fucosylation were possibly related to the development of CRC. Significance In-depth IgG N -glycome profiling of colorectal benign patients, colorectal cancer and normal individuals reveals differentially expression levels of N -glycosylation. Differing from serum comprehensive glycomes, profiling of specific serum glycoprotein contributes to more detailed understanding of biological relevance of glycosylation alterations in disease prognosis. Additionally, the high-throughput technique, MADLI-TOF-MS could absolutely relieve manual stress from sample preparation and accelerate information acquisition as compared to another recent analytical method. Moreover, we introduced a fast and easy data processing of MS exported files based on a software solution, which had the advantage of avoiding time consuming in manually searching and calculating the interesting peaks, and automatically producing the average percentage of each glycan over usual operation with Microsoft Excel. Besides, it may be useful for large-scale study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer-specific DNA methylation from the tumor derived fraction of cell free DNA found in blood samples could be used for minimally invasive detection and monitoring of cancer. The knowledge of marker regions with cancer-specific DNA methylation is necessary to the success of such a process. We analyzed the largest cancer DNA methylation dataset available—TCGA Illumina HumanMethylation450 data with over 8,500 tumors—in order to find cancer-specific DNA methylation markers for most common human cancers. First, we identified differentially methylated regions for individual cancer types and those were further filtered against data from normal tissues to obtain marker regions with cancer-specific methylation, resulting in a total of 1,250 hypermethylated and 584 hypomethylated marker CpGs. From hypermethylated markers, optimal sets of six markers for each TCGA cancer type were chosen that could identify most tumors with high specificity and sensitivity [area under the curve (AUC): 0.969-1.000] and a universal 12 marker set that can detect tumors of all 33 TCGA cancer types (AUC >0.84). In addition to hundreds of new DNA methylation markers, our approach also identified markers that are in current clinical use, SEPT9 and GSTP1, indicating the validity of our approach and a significant potential utility for the newly discovered markers. The hypermethylated markers are linked to polycomb associated loci and a significant fraction of the discovered markers is within noncoding RNA genes; one of the best markers is MIR129-2. Future clinical testing of herein discovered markers will confirm new markers that will improve minimally invasive diagnosis and monitoring for multiple cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The near-infrared (NIR) emission had deeper biological tissue penetration. • The synthesized CNQDs showed efficient NIR electrochemiluminescence. • The ECL wavelength was positively related to the conjugation effect of electrons. • The obtained CNQDs exhibited a tunable ECL wavelength range from 483 to 690 nm. • The regenerative ECL biosensor achieved the ultrasensitive detection of miRNA-222. Herein, carbon nitride quantum dots (CNQDs) with efficient near-infrared electrochemiluminescence (NIR-ECL) and excellent biocompatibility were prepared as an emitter to construct an ultrasensitive regenerative biosensing platform for detection of microRNA-222 (miRNA-222). Impressively, the introduction of electron-rich pyrimidine effectively increased the conjugation effect of electrons on triazine ring in CNQDs to result in red shift of ECL emission wavelength from 483 nm to 690 nm with the increase of pyrimidine. Meanwhile, an improved circular DNA walker was assembled by the catalytic ligation of T4 DNA ligase instead of traditional base complementary pairing, which enhanced the stability of circular DNA walker to increase walking efficiency. Based on CNQDs as emitter and circular DNA walker as signal amplifier, a regenerative biosensor platform was prepared to achieve the ultrasensitive detection of miRNA-222 with the limit of detection of 2.39 aM and it was successfully applied for sensitive detection of miRNA-222 in the lysate of cancer cells. This work opened a promising road for synthesizing efficient NIR-ECL CNQDs to reduce damage to organisms and achieve deeper tissue penetration and provided a new method for biomarker detection and disease diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was firstly implemented as an effective sensitivity enhancer for a peptide-based amperometric biosensor for the ultrasensitive detection of prostate specific antigen (PSA). A porous and conductive substrate of chitosan-lead ferrocyanide-(poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)-graphene oxide) was in-situ generated on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE), in which Pb 2 [Fe(CN) 6 ] served as a novel redox species with strong current signal at −0.46 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). Poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)-graphene oxide was applied to improve conductivity of the substrate. After adsorbing Pb 2+ for signal amplification, chitosan provided active sites to simultaneously immobilize peptides and 1-aminopropyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride by glutaraldehyde. To enhance the sensitivity, BSA was chemically linked to the immobilized peptide, behaving as a serious decrease of current signal for BSA hindering the electron transfer. The dramatic increase of current signal of the biosensor was obtained by PSA cleaving the immobilized BSA-peptide. The proposed biosensor exhibited a detection limit of 1 fg mL −1 for PSA and its sensitivity was seven-fold higher than previous works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present feasibility study, excitation-emission fluorescence spectroscopy has been investigated, as a rapid and accurate analytical method for the development of a tentative model for the early screening of prostate cancer directly through urine analysis in order to provide reliable results while improving patient compliance. Sixty-nine urine samples (46 samples from patients with histologically proven prostate cancer and 23 from healthy donors) were provided, by the University of Pisa, Urology Unit. The excitation-emission fluorescence measurements were performed on centrifugated urine samples at room temperature on a Perkin-Elmer LS55B luminescence spectrometer and the corresponding data array was analysed with parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). From a synergistic analysis of the obtained results, four main fluorophores, corresponding to four selected PARAFAC factors, were recognizable in the urine excitation-emission matrices (EEMs) and the respective species could be potential markers in the differentiation among healthy and cancer samples. PARAFAC results, in terms of extracted scores, coupled with discriminant algorithms, allowed to develop a first attempt of healthy/cancer discrimination model. The chemometrics models show promising correlation between some of the depicted fluorophores and the disease state. However, considering the limited cohort (not only in terms of number but also of representativeness), this study must be considered as a proof of concept; a more sound and statistically relevant sampling must be performed in order to consider the confounding factors in the cohort treated and to develop an analytical approach applicable in real scenarios. [Display omitted] • Excitation-emission Fluorescence Spectroscopy used as rapid tool for the early screening of prostate cancer. • PARAFAC allowed to putatively identify four fluorophores as potential prostate cancer markers. • LDA and PLS-DA models furnished a first healthy/cancer discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method for the selective determination of laminin-5 concentration using a biosensor and surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRI) technique is presented. A biosensor based on the specific interaction of laminin-5 with rabbit polyclonal antibody was constructed. The analytically useful dynamic response range of the biosensor is between 0.014 and 0.1 ng mL. The detection limit is 4 pg mL. The potential influence of interferences on the SPRI signal was investigated, and the high selectivity of the biosensor was confirmed. In order to demonstrate the potential application of the biosensor, laminin-5 concentration in blood plasma was determined. The results were compared with the laminin-5 concentration obtained by the commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. A comparison of results from healthy donors obtained by SPRI measurement and ELISA indicates that they are close and shows good agreement with the data reported in the literature. The plasma samples of bladder cancer patients gave higher concentration measured with specific biosensor than by ELISA assay. The study shows the clear difference in concentration of laminin-5 in healthy humans and patients with bladder cancer. Extensive clinical studies using the newly developed method can result in an increase in the use of laminin-5 as a potential cancer marker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]