Researchers in the Netherlands have developed an incredibly accurate nanosensor which can detect metastatic cancer cells from just a single drop of blood in a major breakthrough for early detection and treatment of the disease.
PhD students Dilu Mathew from University of Twente and Pepijn Beekman from Wageningen University pooled their resources and developed a tiny system to detect tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (tdEVs), a particular type of cancer biomarker.
Their nanosensor is so sensitive it can detect cancer biomarkers on a broad spectrum of concentrations from 10 particles per microliter to 1 million particles per microliter, thanks to its incredibly small and delicate electrodes, shaped like two combs facing each other, with a gap of just 120 nanometers between them.
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The pair’s method is far less time- and resource-intensive than Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and other traditional methods of detecting metastatic cancers.
Their ‘lab on a chip’ can detect individual nanoparticles – and could soon provide a quick and convenient method for healthcare professionals the world over to test for certain diseases in an incredibly non-invasive way.
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