A Compact Prism-Based Microscope for Highly Sensitive Measurements in Fluid Biopsy.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Growing demand for sensitive, portable, and affordable disease detection methods.
• Limitations of current high-sensitivity biosensors include high production costs and challenges in multiplexed detection.
• Need for advanced biosensors for early diagnosis, mass screening, and patient monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, highly sensitive, and rapid biosensing system.
• To overcome limitations of existing high-sensitivity detection methods.
• To validate the biosensor's efficacy using bacterial lipopolysaccharides as sepsis biomarkers.

Main Methods:

• Development of a prism-based total internal reflection system.
• Surface functionalization of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs).
• Utilizing evanescent wave scattering for analyte detection in liquid samples.
• Validation using synthetic and human serum samples with bacterial lipopolysaccharides.

Main Results:

• Achieved highly sensitive and rapid detection of specific analytes.
• Demonstrated remarkable sensitivity in the femtogram per mL concentration range for bacterial lipopolysaccharides.
• Successfully detected biomarkers in both synthetic and human serum samples.
• Validated the use of functionalized AuNPs for sepsis biomarker recognition.

Conclusions:

• The developed biosensor offers a sensitive, rapid, and potentially affordable method for disease detection.
• The technique shows promise for applications in early-stage diagnosis and population screening.
• Envisaged potential adoption for liquid biopsy in clinical settings due to high sensitivity and specificity.