I-Corps: Label-Free detection of Sialic Acid Using Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering Microscopy

这一i-Corps计划的更广泛的商业影响是改进乳腺癌的早期检测方法，预计这将降低发病率、死亡率和复发率。预计它还将降低癌症护理的总体成本，并减少乳腺癌治疗和影响造成的生产力损失。这项筛查技术基于表面增强拉曼散射，提供了一种非侵入性、高灵敏度、快速和经济高效的检测和动态监测唾液中乳腺癌生物标志物唾液酸的方法。我们方法的非侵入性有助于适应文化和宗教敏感性，这些敏感性会降低某些人群对乳房X光检查的遵从性。此外，可携带性和可负担性使这项技术有可能在低收入、农村或偏远地区促进乳腺癌的早期诊断。I-Corps项目开发了一种用于癌症筛查的表面增强拉曼散射系统。这项筛查技术提供了一种非侵入性、高灵敏度、快速和经济高效的方法来检测和动态监测唾液中的乳腺癌生物标记物唾液酸。目前可用的唾液酸特异性检测和定量方法(如层析法)复杂、昂贵且耗时，而更健壮的技术(如比色法)存在非特异性和干扰。这项技术可能会为标准的乳房X光检查提供一种与年龄无关的多功能替代方案，有望改善乳腺癌的治疗。此外，有报道称，子宫、肺癌、结肠癌/直肠癌、胃癌和前列腺癌患者的血清唾液酸水平升高。因此，我们的方法不仅可以用于检测乳腺癌，还可以用于检测其他类型的癌症。

The broader and commercial impacts of this I-Corps program are to improve the early-stage detection methods of breast cancer which is expected to reduce morbidity, mortality and rates of recurrence. It is also expected to decrease the overall cost of cancer care and lost productivity from breast cancer treatment and impacts. This screening technology is based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering and offers a noninvasive, high sensitive, rapid and cost-effective method of detection and dynamic monitoring of a breast cancer biomarker sialic acid in saliva. The non-invasive nature of our method helps to accommodate cultural and religious sensitivities that decrease compliance with mammography among certain populations. Moreover, portability and affordability give this technique the potential to promote early diagnosis of breast cancer in low-income, rural or remote areas.This I-Corps project develops a surface-enhanced Raman scattering system for cancer screening. This screening technology offers a noninvasive, high sensitive, rapid and cost-effective method of detection and dynamic monitoring of a breast cancer biomarker sialic acid in saliva. Currently available methods of specific detection and quantification of sialic acid (such as chromatographic methods) are complicated, expensive and time consuming, while more robust techniques (such as colorimetric assays) suffer from non-specificity and interference. This technology may present a versatile and age-independent alternative to standard mammography screening, holding promise for the improved management of breast cancer. Furthermore, it has been reported that sialic acid levels increased in the serum of patients with uterus, lung, colon/rectum, stomach and prostate cancer. Therefore, our method can be potentially used to detect not exclusively breast cancer, but also other types of cancer.