Facile fluorescent aptasensor using aggregation-induced emission luminogens for exosomal proteins profiling towards...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Cancer Diagnostics

Background:

• Surface proteins on tumor-derived exosomes are potential noninvasive biomarkers for liquid biopsy.
• A need exists for convenient and cost-effective platforms for exosomal protein profiling.
• Current methods for exosome analysis can be complex and expensive.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a facile fluorescent aptasensor for assessing exosomal tumor-associated proteins.
• To establish a cost-effective and convenient platform for liquid biopsy-based cancer detection.
• To evaluate the aptasensor's efficacy in diagnosing prostate and breast cancers.

Main Methods:

• Development of a fluorescent aptasensor utilizing aptamers, aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens), and graphene oxide (GO).
• AIEgens and aptamers act as the fluorescent dye and recognition element, respectively, while GO serves as a quencher.
• The assay relies on a 'turn-on' fluorescence signal generated upon binding of target exosomes to the aptamer-GO complex.

Main Results:

• The aptasensor achieved a linear detection range for target exosomes from 4.07 × 10^5 to 1.83 × 10^7 particles/μL, with a low detection limit of 3.43 × 10^5 particles/μL.
• High diagnostic accuracy was demonstrated for prostate cancer (AUC: 0.9790).
• The platform successfully identified breast tumors with high efficiency (AUC: 0.9845), including early-stage (Stage I) cancers with 92.31% sensitivity.

Conclusions:

• The developed fluorescent aptasensor provides a sensitive and specific method for profiling tumor-derived exosomal proteins.
• This platform shows significant potential for early cancer diagnosis through noninvasive liquid biopsy.
• The strategy offers a promising, cost-effective solution for exosomal biomarker detection in clinical settings.