Electronic engineers can develop handheld devices which could be used to analyse very small quantities of fluids, such s blood or saliva, but there is a limited understanding as to how the materials used in these devices react with human cells. A study from one of our PhD students, Melina Beykou, co-supervised by Professor Pantelis Georgiou and Dr. Nicolas Moser at Imperial College London, and Professor Chris Bakal at the ICR, investigates novel coatings for electrochemical sensors and its impact on living cells, both non-cancerous and cancerous.

The research team modified silicon-based semiconductor sensors, which are particularly appealing because they are very common in our everyday technology such as computers and digital technologies. They also offer high sensitivity to very small changes. In the case of biological samples, these sensors can be utilised to detect minute variations in acidity which could provide helpful diagnostic information. Although many types of such devices have been engineered for infectious disease detection, only a few have been tested or optimised for cell-based cancer detection.

By developing a novel coating that is compatible with living human cells, the team successfully demonstrated that cancerous and normal cells could attach and respond to the surface of the device, allowing their physiological properties to be accurately measured.

This research is an important steppingstone that can be built upon to potentially one day develop a sensor that can distinguish cancer cells from normal cells or detect cancer cell biomarkers circulating in the patient’s blood or other fluids. This type of technology could first be used by our researchers to better understand cancer but could also pave the way for a new generation of cancer detection devices that are not only easy to produce but also simple to use. The authors will be presenting novel work towards these advancements at the IEEE BioCAS 2024 conference.

Read the full paper here.

Image: Breast Cancer cell on ISFET