Nanoscale technology is infiltrating everything from computers to cars to clothing. Such tiny tech –...
Nanoscale technology is infiltrating everything from computers to cars to clothing. Such tiny tech – 80,000 to 100,000 times smaller than a single strand of human hair – may also become the basis for a next generation cancer detection and monitoring system.
A device just one nanometer in diameter, which can be inserted under the skin, may one day be able to signal the onset, progression, or spread of cancer, and alert doctors so they can take action more quickly.
Once cancer starts to grow aggressively or spread from its original location (metastasize) it becomes much harder to treat. That’s why a sensor that could keep an eye out for the onset of cancer or metastasis from inside a person’s body – sending doctors information in real time – could prove to be a game-changer in cancer detection and treatment.
This early warning system would allow doctors to administer drugs more accurately and sooner – ultimately helping to reduce the number of cancer-related deaths, according to its chemical engineer developer, Daniel Roxbury, Ph.D. Roxbury is a research fellow at the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research in New York. His work is funded in part by a $150,000 grant from the American Cancer Society – Roaring Fork Valley Donor Group.
Building a Sensor Nearly 100,000 Times Thinner Than a Sheet of Paper
The sensor is built with carbon nanotubes – very small cylinder-shaped carbon fibers. It works by detecting the presence and level of a specific biomarker in the blood that signals the progression and spread of cancer. Roxbury says that certain cancer cells shed a biomarker termed uPA (urokinase plasminogen activator ), which is associated with many different types of cancers. His device is trying to monitor for an increase in uPA in a person’s bloodstream.
The nanotube by itself is just the carrier for Roxbury’s technology. To make his sensor, Roxbury first wraps the carbon nanotube in DNA and then attaches what is called the uPA binding antibody – the molecule that can detect uPA itself. These pieces work together to do the sensing.
“The antibody conveys the message to the nanotube and the nanotube gives a readout of how much of the uPA molecule is detected,” says Roxbury. “Nanotubes are very sensitive to their environment, which makes them very good sensors.”
Roxbury’s work is in the very early stages of development and testing. He is currently testing the sensor in a water solution.
Once he gets it working properly in that medium, he will move on to testing it in a more complex type of solution such as blood and then on to mice, which he hopes to do in the next 2 years. If testing goes well in animals, then Roxbury can move his device on to clinical testing in people.
