Development of Portable Biosensor for Quantitative analysis of Tumor-Liberated Proteins in Human Serum

The need for a quick, accurate and cost-effective method of determining the presence or stage of a tumor in a patient has led researchers to seek a new breed of instruments capable of meeting this demand. These instruments, commonly known as biosensors, are capable of detecting minute quantities of a selected proteomic target in solution or via any alternative method that allows uniform distribution of the proteomic target across the entire medium. One alternative method employed in this project involves the adsorption of the protein to a gold surface for measurement using fluorescent probes. The project for this year was divided into two segments: research of previous projects similar in concept and design, as well as TLPs specific to non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) as potential targets for future study, and creation of the biosensor with preliminary testing. Results suggest the use of a cytokeratin fragment, Cyfra 21-1, as a biomarker for monitoring the progress of tumor progression once diagnosis has been made. The biosensor also seems to show great promise for more studies involving similar methods