Sensing gastric cancer exosomes with MoS₂-based SERS aptasensor.

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Exosomes are valuable cancer biomarkers due to their tumor-specific molecular cargo.
• Early cancer diagnosis relies on sensitive detection of these biomarkers.
• Existing detection methods require improvement in sensitivity and simplicity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a sensitive and straightforward surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) aptasensor for exosome detection.
• To utilize gold nanostars-decorated molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanocomposites for enhanced SERS signals.
• To establish a reliable method for early cancer diagnosis using exosome detection.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of MoS2-AuNSs nanocomposites.
• Assembly of ROX-labeled aptamers (ROX-Apt) on MoS2-AuNSs for CD63 recognition.
• Detection of exosomes via changes in SERS signal intensity.

Main Results:

• The SERS aptasensor demonstrated high sensitivity, detecting exosomes from 55 to 5.5 × 10^5 particles/μL.
• A low detection limit of 17 particles/μL was achieved.
• The aptasensor showed good stability and potential for clinical application.

Conclusions:

• The developed SERS aptasensor offers a sensitive and straightforward platform for exosome detection.
• This technology holds promise for early cancer diagnosis.
• The synergistic enhancement from MoS2 and AuNSs contributes to the aptasensor's high performance.