•Notícia

Today, the majority of cancers are detected at the macroscopic level, when the tumour is already composed of millions of cancer cells and the disease is starting to advance into a more mature phase. But what if we could diagnose cancer before it took hold, and while it was still only affecting a few localised cells? It would be like putting a fire out while it was still just a few sparks as opposed to it already having spread to many areas of the house.

An international team of researchers, led by the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) in Castelldefels, an institute attached to the UPC, has announced the successful development of a “lab-on-a-chip” platform capable of detecting protein cancer markers in the blood using the very latest advances in plasmonics, microfluidics, nano-fabrication and surface chemistry. The device is able to detect very low concentrations of protein cancer markers in blood, enabling diagnoses of the disease in its earliest stages. The detection of cancer in its very early stages is seen as key to the successful diagnosis and treatment of this disease.

This cancer-tracking nano-device shows great promise as a tool for future cancer treatments, not just because of its reliability, sensitivity and potential low cost, but also because of its easy carry-on portable properties. It is hoped it will facilitate effective diagnosis and suitable treatment procedures in remote places where access to hospitals or clinics is difficult.

Although it is very compact (just a few square centimetres), the lab-on-a-chip hosts various sensing sites distributed across a network of fluidic micro-channels that enable it to conduct multiple analyses. Gold nano-particles lie on the surface of the chip and are chemically programed with an antibody receptor in such a way that they are capable of specifically attracting the protein markers circulating in blood. When a drop of blood is injected into the chip, it circulates through the micro-channels and if cancer markers are present in the blood, they will stick to the nano-particles located on the micro-channels as they pass by, setting off changes in what is known as the “plasmonic resonance”. The device monitors these changes, the magnitude of which are directly related to the concentration/number of markers in the patient’s blood, thus providing a direct assessment of the risk of the patient developing cancer.

ICREA Professor at the ICFO Romain Quidant, coordinator of the project, comments, “the most fascinating finding is that we are capable of detecting extremely low concentrations of this protein in a matter of minutes, making this device an ultra-high-sensitivity, state-of-the-art instrument that will benefit early detection and treatment monitoring of cancer”. In 2009, Prof. Quidant’s research group at the ICFO, in collaboration with several groups of oncologists, joined the worldwide effort devoted to the ultra-sensitive detection of protein markers located on the surface of cancer cells and in peripheral blood, which had been determined to be a clear indicator of the development of cancer. In 2010, they successfully obtained funding for a project called SPEDOC (Surface Plasmon Early Detection of Circulating Heat Shock Proteins and Tumour Cells) under the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). The effort was also boosted by generous philanthropic support from Cellex Foundation Barcelona. Today’s announcement is an important outcome of this project.

The Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), a centre of research excellence devoted to the science and technology of light, was created in 2002 by the Government of Catalonia and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC), with a triple mission: to conduct frontier research, train the next generation of scientists and provide knowledge and technology transfer. Today, it is one of the world’s top research centres in its category, as measured by the Mapping Scientific Excellence ranking.

Research at the ICFO targets the forefront of science and technology based on light with programmes directed at applications in health, renewable energies, information technologies, security and industrial processes, among others. The Institute hosts 300 professionals based in a dedicated building in the Mediterranean Technology Park in the metropolitan area of Barcelona.

Researchers at the ICFO publish in the most prestigious journals and collaborate with a wide range of companies around the world. The Institute runs a vigorous technology transfer programme in which more than 30 national and international industries participate. It has also created five spin-off companies to date. The Institute is generously supported by Cellex Foundation Barcelona, which supports several frontier research projects and programmes focused on young talented researchers.