PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Using smart bioelectronic devices to capture and release tumor cells

A group at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) is proposing the development of low-cost universal platforms for early cancer screening

2023-09-08
(Press-News.org) Metastasis is the leading cause of death in cancer, occurring when a cell leaves the primary tumour, passes into the bloodstream and lymphatic system and reaches distant organs. Non-invasive collection of these circulating tumour cells is essential for the study of cell biology, the diagnosis and prognosis in cancer research, and drug development. As a general rule, the concentration of cancer cells found in blood is very small with respect to other cell types, and traditional methods of collecting them in a viable way are laborious.

 “We wanted to come up with a device capable of concentrating cancer cells in order to detect their concentration,” explained Janire Sáez, Ikerbasque research professor in the UPV/EHU’s Microfluidics Cluster Group. The biosensors (devices for measuring biological or chemical parameters containing a component of a biological nature) developed so far for this purpose damage cells during the capture and release processes, and so the Microfluidics Cluster group has combined smart materials with the area of bioelectronics (which is about applying carbon-based semiconductors) so that the capture and release of cancer cells can be measured.

The procedure has been detailed in a chapter of the book Microfluidic Systems for Cancer Diagnosis, geared towards the scientific community and which explores the latest advances in microfluidic technologies for cancer diagnosis and monitoring. The book is an ideal guide to the laboratory construction of microfluidic devices specifically developed for cancer diagnostics and to promoting the development of new and improved diagnostic devices. As the Ikerbasque research professor explained, “we show a bioelectronic device consisting of microfabricated gold electrodes coated with a smart polymer (which reacts to temperature changes) and which enables the non-invasive capture and release of circulating tumour cells to be made, and the simultaneous electrical and optical monitoring of the entire process to be conducted”.

First steps towards a major breakthrough  “Our tests were performed in culture media; we did not use actual patient samples, but commercial cells sustained in cell culture. We confirmed that our device enabled us to capture and release the cells,” explained the researcher. Now, they are working to tailor the polymer specifically to different cell types. The device “is the outcome of collaboration with a group at the University of Cambridge, with whom we continue to collaborate, and where the device is currently being applied to samples from oesophageal cancer patients. Through this device, cancer cells are being selectively reconcentrated in order to detect their concentration”, said Sáez.

The researcher pointed out that these are “the first steps towards developing platforms for cancer screening. This could be a good step forward because they generally involve low-cost technologies and can be mass-produced. The idea is to use this type of technology for early cancer diagnosis”.

Right now, the Microfluidics Cluster group is focusing its studies on the development of “micrometric structures for bioelectronic devices of this type. We are also developing 3D systems to create 'organ-on-a-chip' systems (biomimetic systems that simulate organs in the human body)”, she concluded.

Additional information The Ikerbasque research professor Janire Sáez lectures in the subject Tissue Engineering for Biochemistry and Biotechnology students.

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Obstetrics & Gynecology devotes special issue to addressing racism in reproductive health

2023-09-08
September 8, 2023 — As part of its active efforts to dismantle systemic racism and promote principles of equity and inclusion within its editorial processes and content, Obstetrics & Gynecology, the official journal of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, has devoted its entire October 2023 issue to addressing racism in reproductive health. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.  A journal with such a rich history must root out inequity  "Let ...

Valleytronics is warming up at Brookhaven Lab

Valleytronics is warming up at Brookhaven Lab
2023-09-08
UPTON, NY—Researchers at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility at DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Northrop Grumman, a multinational aerospace and defense technology company, have found a way to maintain valley polarization at room temperature using novel materials and techniques. This discovery could lead to devices that store and process information in novel ways using this technology without the need to keep them at ultra-low temperatures. Their ...

Refining biome labeling for microbial community samples: AI approach unravels hidden

Refining biome labeling for microbial community samples: AI approach unravels hidden
2023-09-08
In a groundbreaking study published on July 26, 2023, in the journal Environmental Science and Ecotechnology, researchers from Huazhong University of Science and Technology have introduced "Meta-Sorter," an AI-based method that leverages neural networks and transfer learning to significantly improve biome labeling for thousands of microbiome samples in the MGnify database, especially those with incomplete information. The Meta-Sorter approach comprises two crucial steps. Firstly, a neural network model is meticulously constructed using 118,592 microbial samples from 134 biomes and their respective biome ontology, boasting an impressive average ...

Exercise-induced hormone irisin may reduce Alzheimer’s disease plaque and tangle pathology in the brain

2023-09-08
BOSTON – Researchers who previously developed the first 3D human cell culture models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that displays two major hallmarks of the condition—the generation of amyloid beta deposits followed by tau tangles—have now used their model to investigate whether the exercise-induced muscle hormone irisin affects amyloid beta pathology. As reported in the journal Neuron, the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)–led team has uncovered promising results suggesting that irisin-based ...

Immunogenicity and reactogenicity of co-administration of COVID-19 and influenza vaccines

2023-09-08
About The Study: In this study of health care workers who received a COVID-19 vaccine, an influenza vaccine, or both, co-administration was not associated with substantially inferior immune response or to more frequent adverse events compared with COVID-19 vaccine administration alone, supporting the co-administration of these vaccines.  Authors: Gili Regev-Yochay, M.D., of the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.32813) Editor’s ...

Readmission rates after acute respiratory distress syndrome in children

2023-09-08
About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that childhood survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are at high risk of readmission in the first two months after discharge. Future studies should evaluate whether post-discharge interventions (e.g., telephonic contact, follow-up clinics, and home health care) may help reduce the readmission burden.  Authors: Garrett Keim, M.D., of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.30774) Editor’s ...

Ballet of the brain: Unlocking the choreography of movement

Ballet of the brain: Unlocking the choreography of movement
2023-09-08
The zebrafish brain, though simpler than its human counterpart, is a complex network of neurons that engage in a ceaseless dance of electrical activity. What if this neural ballet could reveal the secrets of how brains, including our own, control movement? A zebrafish study led by researchers at the Champalimaud Foundation offers a new lens through which to view the activity of neural populations, and to understand how the brain orchestrates motion. Why we have a brain “The brain’s primary function is movement”, explains Claudia Feierstein, lead author of the study ...

Bacteria generate electricity from wastewater

Bacteria generate electricity from wastewater
2023-09-08
“We engineered E. coli bacteria, the most widely studied microbe, to generate electricity,” says Professor Ardemis Boghossian at EPFL. “Though there are exotic microbes that naturally produce electricity, they can only do so in the presence of specific chemicals. E. coli can grow on a wide range of sources, which allowed us to produce electricity in a wide range of environments, including from waste water.” In a paper published in the journal Joule, Boghossian’s team report a groundbreaking achievement in bioelectronics, advancing the capabilities of common E. coli bacteria to generate ...

Probing the unimaginable: New data help to understand the nature of aphantasia

Probing the unimaginable: New data help to understand the nature of aphantasia
2023-09-08
The ability to visualize faces, objects, landscapes, or even scenes from the past exists on a spectrum. While some can picture the layout of a city in minute detail and mentally walk through it, street by street, others have a perfectly blank internal cinema. In this case, we speak of aphantasia—the inability to voluntarily produce the visual mental image corresponding to an idea. People whose aphantasia is congenital—i.e., not due to a stroke, brain injury, or psychiatric illness—become aware of their peculiarity reasonably ...

Artificial Intelligence: a step change in climate modelling predictions for climate adaptation

2023-09-08
As of today, climate models face the challenge of providing the high-resolution predictions -  with quantified uncertainties - needed by a growing number of adaptation planners, from local decision-makers to the private sector, who require detailed assessments of the climate risks they may face locally.   This calls for a step change in the accuracy and usability of climate predictions that, according to the authors of the paper “Harnessing AI and computing to advance climate modelling and prediction”, can ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

How evolution explains autism rates in humans

Swedish psychologist transforms mental health access through digital therapy revolution

Centenarian neuroscientist inspires blueprint for vibrant longevity through mentorship and connection

King’s College London researcher advances psychiatric genomics through pioneering polygenic scoring innovations

Study questions ocean origin of organics in Enceladus’s plumes

Look out for the keyhole: How to find the safest spots to deflect a hazardous asteroid

The older we get, the fewer favorite songs we have

Face‑/edge‑shared 3D perovskitoid single crystals with suppressed ion migration for stable X‑ray detector

Multiple solutions help fly embryos overcome the fundamental problem of ‘tissue tectonic collision’

GLP-1 weight-loss drugs pose hidden risks for young women

Strategies for enhancing energy‑level matching in perovskite solar cells: An energy flow perspective

3D‑printed boron‑nitrogen doped carbon electrodes for sustainable wastewater treatment via MPECVD

Screening anionic groups within zwitterionic additives for eliminating hydrogen evolution and dendrites in aqueous zinc ion batteries

New tectonic geodynamics textbook bridges scientific disciplines

Tiny and powerful – metamaterial lenses for your phones and drones

Study used AI models to improve prediction of chronic kidney disease progression to end stage renal disease

Peanut shell biochar composite shows promise for removing antibiotic-resistant bacteria from aquaculture wastewater

Compact genetic light switches transform disease control

Sunglasses for plants, and sustainable agriculture

Nearly half of those with diabetes unaware they have the disease

Emergency department visits by uninsured children in Texas soar 45% after COVID-era federal funding ends

Bright children from poorer backgrounds twice as likely to receive hospital mental health treatment than affluent high-achievers

‘Artificial cartilage’ could improve arthritis treatment

Breathing device could have profound impact on survival for people with sleep apnoea and type 2 diabetes

Artificial intelligence assessment indicates stress levels in farmed Amazonian fish

Keith Cole receives grant to conduct integrated research on mobility, cognition and aging

Internationally recognized malaria researcher Stefan Kappe, Ph.D., appointed new director of the UM School of Medicine's Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health

Lung cancer genetics study launches open-source data platform to research community

Pre-conception radiation exposure from CT scans increases risk for miscarriage and birth defects

Boston University appoints Kenneth Lutchen to top research job

[Press-News.org] Using smart bioelectronic devices to capture and release tumor cells
A group at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) is proposing the development of low-cost universal platforms for early cancer screening