A modular sensing and imaging toolkit for the early diagnosis of prostate cancer employing lab-on-the-chip methodologies
This Proof-of-concept project will focus on the innovative exploitation of new diagnostic sensor prototypes which will tackle the early diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa), one of the greatest concerns for ageing men worldwide. 
The development of fast and reliable methods for detecting PCa by electrochemical or optical biosensing will address the unmet need for an early diagnosis and for monitoring non-invasively the PCa evolution post-diagnosis. 
Current PCa screening methods detect the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), but struggle to achieve detection limits below 1 ng/ml. This level of sensitivity is insufficient for the detection of circulating cancerous cells before symptoms of the disease appear: low levels of cellular cancer biomarkers such as PSMA (Prostate-specific membrane antigen) are present in blood up to 5 years before diagnosis. 
More accurate sensors interfaced with an actuator in sensing devices using lab-on-the-chip and applicable in ‘real-time’ will be devised hereby. The innovative prototypes of Tools-To-Sense will incorporate the chemical sensors already available through the underlining ERC Consolidator Grant O2Sense, which are tailored to target PCa cells for molecular imaging applications. These will be able to estimate the concentration of circulating PCa cells as the complex analyte under interrogation. We will focus on target identification and validation, bioassay development and quality control for early detection of PCa using nanotechnology. Biosensors incorporating peptides-functionalised graphene substrates will be assembled since field-effect transistors can achieve high sensitivity for the detection of a panel of PCa biomarkers. New biosensors incorporating dedicated molecular species that provide information about their chemical environment by generating a physical signal consisting of a combined electrochemical and fluorescence emission will be homologated by Tools-To-Sense.