Acoustofluidic diagnostics
Scientists have developed an express method for diagnosing cancer by saliva
Scientists have developed a method for detecting human papillomavirus-16, a strain that causes cancer of the mouth and throat, in saliva. The description is given in the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics (Wang et al., Acoustofluidic Salivary Exosome Isolation).
American scientists from Duke University, the University of California at Los Angeles, in collaboration with British colleagues from the University of Birmingham, have developed a method that makes it easy to analyze saliva for the presence of HPV16 human papillomavirus, a pathogenic strain that causes oropharyngeal cancer, an oncological disease that is rarely detected in the early stages.
The new non–invasive method is called acoustofluidic by researchers, since the basis of the analyzing device created by scientists is a tiny acoustofluidic – working with both acoustic and microhydrodynamic signals - a chip that selects exosomes from human saliva – microscopic extracellular vesicles (vesicles) secreted into the intercellular space by cells of various tissues and organs.
It is believed that exosomes play an important role in intercellular communication, and their number is increasing due to the development of certain types of cancer, in particular oropharyngeal cancer. The developed device, by removing excess particles from saliva, creates concentrated samples enriched with exosomes, in which it is easy to detect tumor-specific biomarkers.
"Approximately 115 thousand cases of oropharyngeal cancer are recorded annually in the world. It is one of the fastest growing cancers in Western countries, especially in young patients. Therefore, it is extremely important that methods for its early detection be developed, – the words of the head of the study Tony Jun Huang from Duke University are quoted in a press release from Elsevier publishing house. "The successful detection of HPV16 virus in salivary exosomes isolated by our acoustofluidic platform serves as the basis for the creation of such a method."
The researchers analyzed saliva samples obtained from 10 patients with confirmed oropharyngeal cancer. In eight of them, the new method revealed the tumor biomarker HPV16 DNA.
The authors note that their method makes it possible to create an automated screening system – a fast and cheap preliminary diagnosis of cancer associated with the HPV virus, carried out at the place of observation of patients. It takes less than five minutes to process the saliva analysis in it, compared to the eight hours required for traditional biomarker analysis. At the same time, the results do not depend on the viscosity of saliva and the methods of its collection.
In addition, the method is quantitative and suitable for monitoring the development of a tumor or progress in its treatment.
"Thanks to these characteristics, acoustofluid technology can significantly exceed existing standards, accelerate biomedical research related to exosomes, and help in the discovery of new exosomal biomarkers," says Dr. Huang.
According to the researchers, this technology can also be used to analyze other biological fluids, such as blood, urine and plasma.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru