EAGER: Integrating Multiple Biomarkers in Nano-Sensor Arrays for Enhanced Detection of Prostate Cancer

美国国家科学基金会使用探索性研究的早期概念拨款（EAGER）资助机制来支持在未经测试但具有潜在变革性的研究思路或方法的早期阶段的探索性工作。这个EAGER项目是由于Dear Colleague Letter NSF 16-080邀请来自历史上的黑人学院和大学的申请者提交提案，以加强该机构教师的研究能力而获得的。田纳西州立大学的这个项目旨在设计和开发具有多种生物标志物功能的纳米悬臂谐振器，为前列腺癌的检测提供一种准确、高灵敏度、快速和低成本的方法。本项目旨在探索在纳米悬臂阵列中整合多种生物标志物的可行性，为前列腺癌的检测提供一种准确、高灵敏度、快速、低成本的方法。传感器悬臂阵列将被设计和制造，每个悬臂将被不同的生物标志物功能化，阵列的响应将被测量和绘制在一起，以提供检测前列腺癌的模型。提出传感器阵列将产生更多待分析样品的数据，并提供更准确和更具体的检测方法，减少产生的假阳性数量。为了实现这一目标，需要完成的主要任务是：纳米悬臂梁的设计；纳米机电系统器件的制备功能化纳米谐振器表面，包括金纳米颗粒与四种生物标志物的共轭，以及每种生物基质在纳米悬臂上的应用；以及纳米悬臂阵列的测试。这项工作可以在未来扩展，为在特异性和敏感性是一个问题的其他传感机制中使用多种生物标志物提供一个框架。这个EAGER项目由工程局资助。

The National Science Foundation uses the Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) funding mechanism to support exploratory work in its early stages on untested, but potentially transformative, research ideas or approaches. This EAGER project was awarded as a result of the invitation in the Dear Colleague Letter NSF 16-080 to proposers from Historically Black Colleges and Universities to submit proposals that would strengthen research capacity of faculty at the institution. The project at Tennessee State University aims to design and develop nano-cantilever resonators functionalized with multiple biomarkers to provide for an accurate, highly sensitive, fast, and low-cost method for the detection of prostate cancer.This project seeks to explore the feasibility of integrating multiple biomarkers in a nano-cantilever array to provide for an accurate, highly sensitive, fast, and low-cost method for the detection of prostate cancer. The sensor cantilever array will be designed and fabricated, each cantilever will be functionalized with a different biomarker, and the response from the array will be measured and mapped together to provide a model for detecting prostate cancer. It is proposed that the sensor array will generate more data about the sample to be analyzed and provide for a more accurate and specific detection method, reducing the number of false positives generated. The main tasks to be completed to achieve this objective are: the design of the nano-cantilevers; fabrication of the nano-electromechanical systems devices; functionalizing the nano-resonator surfaces, including the conjugation of the gold nanoparticles with each of the four biomarkers to be used and the application of each bio-substrate on a nano-cantilever; and testing of the nano-cantilever array. This work could be expanded in the future to provide a framework for the use of multiple biomarkers for other sensing mechanisms where specificity and sensitivity are an issue. This EAGER project is funded by the Engineering Directorate.