Researchers develop affordable and fast test device for brain cancer

The device features a biochip that uses electrokinetic technology to detect biomarkers, or active Epidermal Growth Factor Receptors (EGFRs), which are overexpressed in certain cancers such as glioblastoma and found in extracellular vesicles.

“Extracellular vesicles or exosomes are unique nanoparticles secreted by cells. They are big — 10 to 50 times bigger than a molecule — and they have a weak charge. Our technology was specifically designed for these nanoparticles, using their features to our advantage,” Hsueh-Chia Chang, Bayer Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Notre Dame, Indiana, and lead author of the study, said in a statement.

The challenge for the researchers was to develop a process that could distinguish between active and non-active EGFRs and create a diagnostic technology that was sensitive, yet selective, in detecting active EGFRs on extracellular vesicles from blood samples.

To do this, the team created a biochip that uses an inexpensive, electrokinetic sensor about the size of the ball in a ballpoint pen. Due to the size of the extracellular vesicles, antibodies on the sensor can form multiple bonds to the same extracellular vesicle, which the researchers said significantly enhances the sensitivity and selectivity of the diagnostic tool.