Nanosensor Arrays for Detecting Breast-Cancer Compounds

In this annual report we describe the results of a research effort into the development of nanosensors for breast cancer biomarkers. In our last annual report, we had described the discovery of a gating phenomenon that had the potential for greatly improving the reproducibility and reliability of individual nanosensors, and the potential for building a nanosensor array, leading to cheaper and faster methods of detecting biomolecular markers.

Broadly, the research has started out with several specific aims:

1. Design of a nanomechanical cantilever based sensor for biomolecular recognition, using Finite-Element simulation.

2. Fabrication of Biofunctionalized Nanoscale Sensors capable of detecting targeted molecules at a concentration of less than 1 ng/ml.

3. Demonstration of the ability to make an array of nanosensors, capable of performing highly parallel studies on selected biomarkers, based on the field effect gating principle.

4. Characterization of functionalized nanosensors for selected breast cancer markers, and comparing with existing immunohistochemical and Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) techniques on well established biomarkers such as Her-2/neu, estrogen and progesterone hormone receptors in tumor tissue, and selected mucin antigens in blood.

Our most notable success this year has been to further develop the very exciting gating principle. We report here the fabrication of an array of nanosensors, showing sensitive to model systems. We have characterized the array using a model system. We have now to establish that this sensitivity extends to breast cancer biomarkers and are waiting for approval from the DOD Office of Research Protectons concerning human. As soon as approval is granted studies on samples derived from patients will be initiated. Combined with studies on tissue samples from patients, we feel that we will be able to meet all the specific aims of the IDEA award.