Breath diagnostics: Enhancing cancer detection and monitoring

Cancer Diagnostics Conference & Expo

June 13-15, 2016 Rome, Italy

Wenjun Zhang

Northeastern University, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Cancer Sci Ther

Abstract :

When there is a change in your health, you want to find out as early as possible. Therefore, the possibility of routine monitoring of metabolic disorders via breath analysis has attracted considerable scientific and clinical interest for many years. Lung cancer, in particular, attracts more attention due to the fact that early diagnosis of it results in significantly improved survival rate compared to more advanced diseases. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath, which are mainly blood borne, particularly provide valuable information about the subject�s physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Additionally, breath diagnostics is non-invasive, real-time, painless and agreeable to patients. This new generation of medical diagnosis is enabled by advances in the design and use of biomaterials for medical and clinical applications, from nano to macro-materials and protein to tissue. We have developed a wireless sensor array based on single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) decorated single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) for the detection of cancer biomarkers in breath. A number of different DNA sequences, selected by molecular dynamics simulation, were used to functionalize SWNT sensors to detect trace amount of methanol, benzene, dimethyl sulfide and acetone which are potential biomarkers of lung cancer. Our tests have indicated that DNA functionalized SWNT sensors exhibit great selectivity, sensitivity, reproducibility and repeatability. Furthermore, different molecules can be distinguished and quantified through the simultaneously complex measurements enabled by this sensor array. Thus, the sensor array has demonstrated an excellent potential to be applied in chemical or bimolecular detection for cancer early detection and monitoring through breath diagnostics.

Biography :

Email: Zhang.wenj@husky.neu.edu