Inhalable point-of-care urinary diagnostic platform

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Oncology

Background:

• Lung cancer diagnosis faces disparities due to limited access and high costs of medical imaging.
• Early detection is crucial for improving lung cancer survival rates.
• Existing screening methods like low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) have accessibility limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a needleless and imaging-free platform for early lung cancer detection.
• To reduce resource disparities in lung cancer diagnosis.
• To create a rapid, accessible, and cost-effective screening tool.

Main Methods:

• Design of Point-of-Care Aerosolizable Nanosensors with Tumor-Responsive Oligonucleotide Barcodes (PATROL).
• Formulation of inhalable DNA-barcoded, activity-based nanosensors (ABNs).
• Detection of urinary signatures of cleaved ABNs using a paper-based lateral flow assay at room temperature.

Main Results:

• PATROL successfully detected early-stage lung adenocarcinoma in a mouse model with high sensitivity and specificity.
• The platform demonstrated a rapid detection time of under 20 minutes.
• Urinary reporter excretion and quantification were achieved through protease-mediated cleavage of ABNs.

Conclusions:

• The PATROL platform offers a modular approach to lower the resource threshold for lung cancer early detection.
• This technology has the potential to enable rapid detection of chronic pulmonary disorders and infections.
• PATROL represents a significant advancement in accessible and equitable cancer diagnostics.