Early cancer detection using organic electrochemical transistor based on the conductive polymer

Natalia MALARA, University of Magna Graecia

Conducting polymers are materials displaying high electrical conductivity, easy of fabrication, flexibility and biocompatibility, for this, they are routinely employed in organic electronics, printed electronics, and bioelectronics. In this study, we demonstrate an organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) based on the conductive polymer PEDOT:PSS for the analysis of biological solutions. The device comprises arrays of superhydrophobic micro-pillars in which a finite number of pillars incorporates nano-electrodes for site specific measurements of a solution. Due to its nano-scale architecture, the device realizes time and space resolved measurement of biological solution. We operate the analysis of the cell culture medium upon interaction with circulating non-haematological cell isolated form peripheral blood sampling of health, sub-clinical and cancer patients. Our group here propose an innovative point of view. Normally the human normal non-haematological cells are resident in their referenced tissue immerged in interstitial liquid with an electrolytic state in turn dependent by the semi conductivity state of proteins. Perturbations of this electrolytic state are translate on perturbations on the semi conductivity state of proteins, structural proteins and relative insoluble and soluble fractions, with changes on electron spin resonance (ESR) signal. On this basis, the device here presented the changes in the ESR signals was used to identify electronic changes occurring in the analysis of different type of in vitro microenvironment. We proposed the analysis of the liquid of cultivation conditioned by nonhaematological cells (in vitro microenviroment) as reference of correspondent in vivo tissue-microenviroment. Our results demonstrate that the device is able to register significative difference to differentiate healthy individuals form cancer patients, through an easy blood sampling. In conclusion, these preliminary data are suggestive of a novel test potentially useful to early identification of subjects at risk to development cancer disease. 

 
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