Targeting the early detection of cancer with lab-on-chip nanohole sensors

癌症是加拿大的主要死亡原因，随着加拿大人口老龄化，预计癌症将变得更加突出。早期发现是成功治疗癌症的关键。例如，卵巢癌在早期发现时存活率为95%，但通常是致命的，因为它直到晚期才出现症状，而且缺乏有效的筛查技术。大多数癌症缺乏单一的生物标志物或指示物，这表明癌症的有效早期检测将需要通过集成设备中的一系列生物传感器对样本进行分析。本项目的目标是开发一种实用有效的癌症诊断集成设备。为了实现这一目标，该项目整合了基于生物传感、微流控处理的无标记纳米孔阵列的前沿，并建立了具有新型流动阵列架构的卵巢癌生物标记物。这种集成设备是芯片和阅读器的组合，预计将在灵敏度方面超过目前用于早期癌症检测的生物医学方法，并具有芯片实验室微型化的额外好处。拟议的研究计划利用了该团队在纳米光子学传感技术和芯片实验室集成方面的早期演示和专业知识。这项工作的核心是BC癌症迪利研究中心的参与和支持，以及他们在为已确定的卵巢癌生物标记物开发试剂方面的持续工作，以及工业支持组织。这项工作将包括三个同时进行的阶段：优化纳米光子传感和光学仪器；将捕获抗体固定在纳米孔阵列结构上并进行验证；以及开发具有流通式阵列结构的样品制备和输送流体。这项设备开发工作的目标是为实用和有效的癌症筛查技术铺平道路，为加拿大人的社会和经济利益铺平道路。

Cancer is a leading cause of death in Canada and it is expected to become even more prominent with Canada's aging population. Early detection is paramount to treating cancer successfully. Ovarian cancer, for instance, has a 95% survival rate with early detection, yet is commonly fatal as it is asymptomatic until late stages and there is a lack of effective screening technology. The lack of a single biomarker, or indicator, for most cancers indicates effective early detection of cancer will require analysis of a sample over an array of biosensors in an integrated device. The goal of this project is to develop a practical and effective integrated device for cancer diagnostics. To achieve this goal, the project integrates the forefront of label-free nanohole array based biosensing, microfluidic processing, and established ovarian cancer biomarkers with a novel flow-through-array architecture. The integrated device, a combination of chip and reader, is expected to outperform current biomedical methods for early cancer detection with respect to sensitivity, with additional benefits of lab-on-chip miniaturization. The proposed research program takes advantage of the team's early demonstrations and expertise in nanophotonics sensing technology and lab-on-chip integration. Central to the work is the involvement and support of the BC Cancer Deeley Research Centre, and their on-going work in developing reagents for identified ovarian cancer biomarkers, as well as industrial supporting organizations. The work will involve three concurrent stages: the optimization of the nanophotonic sensing and optical instrumentation; the immobilization of capture antibodies on the nanohole array structures and validation; and development of sample preparation and delivery fluidics with a flow-through-array architecture. The goal of this device development work is to lay the way for a practical and effective cancer screening technology, to the social and economic benefit of Canadians.