Molecular biosensors: promising new tools for early detection of cancer

Zeynep Altintas, Ibtisam E Tothill Biomedical Engineering, Cranfield University, Cranfield, UK Abstract: Over the last decade, an increasing number of researchers have focused on developing rapid techniques based on biosensor technology for the detection of various human health-related conditions. Cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and infectious diseases are at the top of these investigations. Huge advances have taken place in a wide range of disciplines, with improved sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility of the designed methodologies. Advances in other scientific disciplines, including genetics, chemical and microelectronic engineering, computational sciences, and medicine have also impacted on the developments taking place in the diagnostics field. As a result of these developments, more stable, rapid, and reliable sensing platforms have been successfully constructed for specific and ultrasensitive biomarker-based disease diagnostics. These achievements were also a result of improving sensor production quality, developing appropriate surface chemistries, selection of high affinity ligands for target biomarkers, and using nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes, magnetic/gold nanoparticles, or quantum dots for signal amplification. Moreover, use of bioinformatics tools, combined with proteomics and genomics technologies and metabolomics, has significantly improved the knowledge and discovery of new biomarkers that can be used for early detection. Due to these significant outputs, coupled with advances in miniaturization and nanotechnology, the demand for development and production of sensor systems, including optical, piezoelectric/acoustic, electrochemical, and colorimetric, has gradually increased during the last decade. Moreover, not only protein and gene markers, but also secondary metabolites and cell signaling pathway molecules can be used for disease detection. To date, diagnostic tests for the early detection of cancer biomarkers are available on the market, and these provide noninvasive/minimally invasive tests that can play a crucial role both in successful treatment and patient survival. This paper reviews disease biomarkers, post-genomic technology, and use of molecular biosensors for early detection of cancer.Keywords: cancer, biomarker discovery, post-genomic technology, molecular biosensors, disease diagnostics