Faster, easier, cheaper

Previously, it was believed that exosomes are "garbage bags" in which the cell puts everything that it does not need at the moment, and then "throws" it into the extracellular space. However, in recent years, scientists have become convinced that exosomes perform a very important function of transmitting signaling molecules to other cells. An interesting observation was also made that cancer cells produce exosomes much more actively than healthy ones, sending information through the body that stimulates the growth of a cancerous tumor and its metastasis.

Scientists from the University of Kansas have developed a new design of a "laboratory on a chip" – an ultra-sensitive diagnostic device that allows you to detect exosomes of cancer cells in a drop of blood or plasma.

The main problem in using such devices lies in their configuration. The smallest particles are very difficult to get to the sensor – liquid droplets falling between the sensor and the particles are a hindrance, and that is why they are almost impossible to detect. The main innovation of the development of scientists from Kansas is precisely to solve this problem: they have developed a three-dimensional nanoporous structure forming a herringbone pattern, which effectively "pushes out" the liquid and directs the detected particles to the sensor surface. The diagram of the device is shown in the figure.

To test their device, the developers teamed up with an expert in the field of tumor biomarkers, deputy director of the University of Kansas Cancer Center Andrew Godwin at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center, as well as graduate student Ashley Tetlow at the Godwin Biomarker Discovery Laboratory. Together, they tested the device's performance by conducting an experimental analysis of samples of patients suffering from ovarian cancer. Cancer was diagnosed in very small plasma samples.

Another feature that distinguishes the new device from its predecessors and competitors is ease of manufacture. According to scientists, to create such a chip, no specialized complex equipment is required, and even a student, or even a high school student, is able to assemble the device independently. This will reduce the cost of testing for patients, which, in turn, will increase the number of tests performed, including in the early stages of the disease. Thus, a "laboratory on a chip" can significantly improve the prognosis for patients suffering from cancerous tumors.

Now scientists are actively working to analyze the potential of the "laboratory on a chip" in relation to other types of cancer, as well as to adapt the technology for clinical use.

Article by Zhang et al. Ultrasensitive detection of circulating exosomes with a 3D-nanopatterned microfluidic chip published in Nature Biomedical Engineering.

Anastasia Poznyak, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru / based on the materials of The University of Kansas: Breakthrough 'lab-on-a-chip' detects cancer faster, cheaper and less invasively.