The power of photonics

(Press-News.org) Seemesh Bhaskar believes cancer detection should happen years before a diagnosis ever appears in a medical chart. 

The postdoctoral researcher in Professor Brian Cunningham’s Nanosensors Group is helping develop technology that could detect signs of cancer five to eight years earlier than traditional diagnostic tools by identifying molecular signals long before symptoms emerge. 

Bhaskar is using his multidisciplinary academic background in physics, environmental diagnostics, photonics, chemistry and nanotechnology to pursue that goal.

“I’m using all my knowledge for cancer diagnostics. That’s a shared mission between me and Professor Cunningham,” Bhaskar said.  

The research

Their work recently appeared in Chemical Reviews — the highest-impact-factor journal in chemistry, published by the American Chemical Society. The paper represents more than two years of research, including extensive reviews of discoveries spanning from 1900 to 1980, to better understand why there is often a large gap between cancer’s initial development and its formal diagnosis. 

When it comes to disease, the timing of a diagnosis is critical. Through a combination of photonics and nanotechnology, their research could enable much earlier detection: five to eight years sooner than traditional instruments, according to Bhaskar. Their tiny technology packs a big punch.

“Everything boils down to DNA and RNA,” Bhaskar said. “They must get flicked out and do something wrong. And that will lead to cancer.” 

While the reason for a cell’s mutation remains under active study, the Illinois researchers can detect signals that may predict a cell’s mutation years later. 

“We wanted to see if we could trace it back to a point where something is happening in the cell, and can we do the real detection there?” Bhaskar said. “That is where the power of photonics comes.” 

Indeed, there is power in photonics, and it works on a microlevel. 

“We have microorganisms, viruses and bacteria in our systems that attack the body from external sources,” Bhaskar said. “They are very small. Molecules are very tiny. So we cannot see the molecules or bacteria because they are so small. The resolution is not high enough. So we need something that can talk to them.” 

Enter nanomaterials. 

Nanotechnology is small enough to interact with microRNA. Light and nanomaterials can interact with one another, and the nanomaterials can also interact with biological systems. 

“Photonics has this very strong power where we can indirectly talk to the molecules and see how they are creating problems in terms of how the disease is spreading,” Bhaskar said. 

Once researchers identify the problem area, health professionals can detect the disease and pursue treatment. 

Shedding light on what was ignored

What took so long to shed light on this powerful detection method? Bhaskar said researchers largely ignored it.

“Earth is a giant magnetic field. Light is called electromagnetic radiation," said Bhaskar. "For so many decades, we only talked about electric flux. We totally ignored the magnetic flux of the electromagnetic radiation that is traveling. Simply because the magnetic flux cannot be accessed, there were not many accessible tools."

Bhaskar and his team created simulations using nano-assemblies made in the laboratory that could tap into that magnetic flux potential. 

“We engineered the photonic substrates and the nano-assemblies and made them talk to each other and did the detection of microRNA,” Bhaskar said. “So, if a patient is going to get cancer five years down the line, their body is going to have a few microRNAs or DNA that are actually creating the cancer five years down the line.”

A lab built on mentorship

Publishing  in Chemical Reviews-the first time Bhaskar and Cunningham have appeared in the journal-is a source of pride for both. 

Bhaskar said the paper was successful in part because of the laboratory environment fostered by Cunningham. 

“He treats everyone like faculty,” Bhaskar said. 

Bhaskar said Cunningham takes a holistic approach to mentoring researchers. 

“Working with him is gripping,” Bhaskar said. “Once you talk to him about what you want to do, he will go back to the same point of how it is beneficial to the society.” 

Cunningham supports researchers personally by asking during team meetings about something positive that happened in their lives that week and showing genuine interest in their well-being. 

For Bhaskar, the goal of the research ultimately comes back to people. 

“If we can detect the signals earlier, we give doctors more time,” he said. “More time means more options for treatment and a better chance for patients.” 

Grainger Affiliations

Professor Brian T. Cunningham is an Intel Alumni Endowed Chair Professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering; Program Leader for the Cancer Center at Illinois in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation; Professor in the Department of Bioengineering; Professor within the Holonyak Micro & Nanotechnology Lab; Professor of Biomedical and Translational Sciences; Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences;Affiliate in the Department of Chemistry;Professor in the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology;Affiliate Professor in the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology.

 

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