Point-of-care diagnostics approaches for detection of lung cancer-associated circulating miRNAs

Nanophotonic waveguide-based sensing of circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA: implications for personalized medicine

Circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA (ccf-mtDNA) has emerged as a promising biomarker, with potential implications for disease diagnosis. Changes in mtDNA, such as deletions, mutations or variations in the number of copies, have been associated with mitochondrial disorders, heart diseases, cancer and age-related non-communicable diseases. Previous methods, such as polymerase chain reaction-based approaches, next-generation sequencing and imaging-based techniques, have shown improved accuracy in identifying rare mtDNA variants or mutations, but they have limitations. This article explains the basic principles and benefits of using planar optical waveguide-based detection devices, which represent an advanced approach in the field of sensing.

Quantum Dots-Based Protocols for the Detection of RNAs

RNA (ribonucleic acid) plays a crucial role in various cellular processes and is involved in the development and progression of several diseases. RNA molecules have gained considerable attention as potential biomarkers for various ailments, as they reflect the activity of genes in a particular cell or tissue. By measuring the levels of specific RNA molecules, such as messenger RNA (mRNA), noncoding RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs), and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), researchers can infer the expression patterns of genes associated with a particular disease. Aberrant expression of specific miRNAs or lncRNAs has been associated with conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, and more. Detection and quantification of these RNAs in biological samples, such as blood or tissue, can provide valuable diagnostic or prognostic information. Yet their analysis is a challenging endeavor due to their length, sequence similarity across family members, sensitivity to disintegration, and low quantity in total samples. New advances in nanophotonics have provided novel options for fabrication of quantum dots (QDs)-based biosensing devices capable of detecting a variety of disease-specific RNAs. Thus, we proposed and designed a nanophotonic method employing oligonucleotide-conjugated quantum dot nanoconjugates for the rapid and accurate detection of RNAs. Despite the abundance of other molecules in the sample, the approach delivers highly selective, precise identification of the target RNAs. The data also indicated the method's great practicality and simplicity in determining RNAs selectively. Overall, the approach enables the evaluation of RNA expression in relation to the initial onset and progression of a human health disorder.

Design and Fabrication of a Nanobiosensor for the Detection of Cell-Free Circulating miRNAS-LncRNAS-mRNAS Triad Grid

The increased understanding of the competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network in the onset and development of breast cancers has suggested their use as promising disease biomarkers. Keeping these RNAs as molecular targets, we designed and developed an optical nanobiosensor for specific detection of the miRNAs-LncRNAs-mRNAs triad grid in circulation. The sensor was formulated using three quantum dots (QDs), i.e., QD-705, QD-525, and GQDs. These QDs were surface-activated and modified with a target-specific probe. The results suggested the significant ability of the developed nanobiosensor to identify target RNAs in both isolated and plasma samples. Apart from the higher specificity and applicability, the assessment of the detection limit showed that the sensor could detect the target up to 1 fg concentration. After appropriate validation, the developed nanobiosensor might prove beneficial to characterizing and detecting aberrant disease-specific cell-free circulating miRNAs-lncRNAs-mRNAs.

Microfluidic devices for the detection of disease-specific proteins and other macromolecules, disease modelling and drug development: A review

Microfluidics is a revolutionary technology that has promising applications in the biomedical field.Integrating microfluidic technology with the traditional assays unravels the innumerable possibilities for translational biomedical research. Microfluidics has the potential to build up a novel platform for diagnosis and therapy through precise manipulation of fluids and enhanced throughput functions. The developments in microfluidics-based devices for diagnostics have evolved in the last decade and have been established for their rapid, effective, accurate and economic advantages. The efficiency and sensitivity of such devices to detect disease-specific macromolecules like proteins and nucleic acids have made crucial impacts in disease diagnosis. The disease modelling using microfluidic systems provides a more prominent replication of the in vivo microenvironment and can be a better alternative for the existing disease models. These models can replicate critical microphysiology like the dynamic microenvironment, cellular interactions, and biophysical and biochemical cues. Microfluidics also provides a promising system for high throughput drug screening and delivery applications. However, microfluidics-based diagnostics still encounter related challenges in the reliability, real-time monitoring and reproducibility that circumvents this technology from being impacted in the healthcare industry. This review highlights the recent microfluidics developments for modelling and diagnosing common diseases, including cancer, neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory and autoimmune disorders, and its applications in drug development.

Microfluidic platforms integrated with nano-sensors for point-of-care bioanalysis

Microfluidic technology provides a portable, cost-effective, and versatile tool for point-of-care (POC) bioanalysis because of its associated advantages such as fast analysis, low volumes of reagent consumption, and high portability. Along with microfluidics, the application of nanomaterials in biosensing has attracted lots of attention due to their unique physical and chemical properties for enhanced signal modulation such as signal amplification and signal transduction for POC bioanalysis. Hence, an enormous number of microfluidic devices integrated with nano-sensors have been developed for POC bioanalysis targeting low-resource settings. Herein, we review recent advances in POC bioanalysis on nano-sensor-based microfluidic platforms. We first briefly summarized the different types of cost-effective microfluidic platforms, followed by a concise introduction to nanomaterial-based biosensors. Then, we highlighted the application of microfluidic platforms integrated with nano-sensors for POC bioanalysis. Finally, we discussed the current limitations and perspective trends of the nano-sensor-based microfluidic platforms for POC bioanalysis.

Bioanalytical Applications of Graphene Quantum Dots for Circulating Cell-Free Nucleic Acids: A Review

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are carbonaceous nanodots that are natural crystalline semiconductors and range from 1 to 20 nm. The broad range of applications for GQDs is based on their unique physical and chemical properties. Compared to inorganic quantum dots, GQDs possess numerous advantages, including formidable biocompatibility, low intrinsic toxicity, excellent dispensability, hydrophilicity, and surface grating, thus making them promising materials for nanophotonic applications. Owing to their unique photonic compliant properties, such as superb solubility, robust chemical inertness, large specific surface area, superabundant surface conjugation sites, superior photostability, resistance to photobleaching, and nonblinking, GQDs have emerged as a novel class of probes for the detection of biomolecules and study of their molecular interactions. Here, we present a brief overview of GQDs, their advantages over quantum dots (QDs), various synthesis procedures, and different surface conjugation chemistries for detecting cell-free circulating nucleic acids (CNAs). With the prominent rise of liquid biopsy-based approaches for real-time detection of CNAs, GQDs-based strategies might be a step toward early diagnosis, prognosis, treatment monitoring, and outcome prediction of various non-communicable diseases, including cancers.

Microbiome dysbiosis and epigenetic modulations in lung cancer: From pathogenesis to therapy

The lung microbiome plays an essential role in maintaining healthy lung function, including host immune homeostasis. Lung microbial dysbiosis or disruption of the gut-lung axis can contribute to lung carcinogenesis by causing DNA damage, inducing genomic instability, or altering the host's susceptibility to carcinogenic insults. Thus far, most studies have reported the association of microbial composition in lung cancer. Mechanistic studies describing host-microbe interactions in promoting lung carcinogenesis are limited. Considering cancer as a multifaceted disease where epigenetic dysregulation plays a critical role, epigenetic modifying potentials of microbial metabolites and toxins and their roles in lung tumorigenesis are not well studied. The current review explains microbial dysbiosis and epigenetic aberrations in lung cancer and potential therapeutic opportunities.

Graphene Quantum-Dot-Based Nanophotonic Approach for Targeted Detection of Long Noncoding RNAs in Circulation

Recent progress in the field of nanophotonics has opened up novel avenues for developing nanomaterial-based biosensing systems, which can detect various disease-specific biomarkers, including long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) known to circulate in biological fluids. Herein, we designed and developed a nanophotonic approach for rapid and specific capture of lncRNAs using oligonucleotide-conjugated graphene quantum-dot-nanoconjugates. The method offers accurate identification of the target lncRNAs with high selectivity, despite the presence of other molecules in the given sample. The observations also pointed toward the high feasibility and simplicity of the method in the selective determination of lncRNAs. Overall, the approach has the potential of assessing lncRNA expression as a function of disease initiation and progression.

Inhibitory Effect of miR-339-5p on Glioma through PTP4A1/HMGB1 Pathway

Objective

Finding miR-339-5p inhibitory functions in glioma through PTP4A1/HMGB1 pathway.

Methods

From May 2020 to August 2021, 20 glioblastoma and para cancer tissues were chosen for qRT-PCR analysis. The miR-NC, miR-con, miR-339-5PMIMIC, and miR-con + groups were transfected into human glioma U251 cells. The capacity of cell vascular-like structure construction was found by simulating angiogenesis, and the ability of cell movement was examined by cell scratching. The twofold luciferase reporter gene method determined that miR-339-5p targets PTP4A1, and the protein expression levels of PTP4A1 and HMGB1 were examined using Western blot.

Results

MiR-339-5P expression was substantially lower in cancer samples than noncancer samples (P < 0.05). PTP4A1 expression in cancer samples was higher than in healthy controls (P < 0.05). The miR-339-5p group produced significantly less vascular-like structures than the NC and miR-con groups (P < 0.05). The miR-339-5p group lowered the invasive index and migratory rate of U251 cells (P < 0.05). PTP4A1 inhibited the luciferase activity of the pTP4A1-WT reporter gene (P < 0.05) but not the PTP4A1-MUT (P > 0.05). The miR-339-5p group had lower protein levels of PTP4A1 and HMGB1 than the NC and miR-con groups (P < 0.05). The development of vascular-like structures was substantially more significant in the miR-con +PTP4A1 group than in the miR-con and miR-339-5p +PTP4A1 groups (P < 0.05). In terms of migration and invasion index, there was a substantial difference between the miR-339-5p +PTP4A1 and the miR-con +PTP4A1 groups (P < 0.05). The miR-con +PTP4A1 group had a greater migration rate and invasive index than the miR-con and miR-339-5p +PTP4A1 groups (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

MiR-339-5P inhibits angiogenic mimicry, migration, and invasion of brain glioma U251 cells by inhibiting the PTP4A1/HMGB1 signal pathway.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering biosensors for detection of oncomiRs in breast cancer

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has emerged as one of the most promising platforms for various biosensing applications. These sensing systems encompass the advantages of specificity, ultra-high sensitivity, stability, low cost, repeatability, and easy-to-use methods. Moreover, their ability to offer a molecular fingerprint and identify the target analyte at low levels make SERS a promising technique for detecting circulating cancer biomarkers with greater sensitivity and reliability. Among the various circulating biomolecules, oncomiRs are emerging as prominent biomarkers for the early screening of breast cancers (BCs). In this review, we provide a comprehensive understanding of different SERS-based biosensors and their application to identify BC-specific oncomiRs. We also discuss different SERS-based sensing strategies, nano-analytical frameworks, and challenges to be addressed for effective clinical translation.

Nanomaterial-Based Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) and Metal-Enhanced Fluorescence (MEF) to Detect Nucleic Acid in Cancer Diagnosis

Nucleic acids, including DNA and RNA, have received prodigious attention as potential biomarkers for precise and early diagnosis of cancers. However, due to their small quantity and instability in body fluids, precise and sensitive detection is highly important. Taking advantage of the ease-to-functionality and plasmonic effect of nanomaterials, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF)-based biosensors have been developed for accurate and sensitive quantitation of cancer-related nucleic acids. This review summarizes the recent strategies and advances in recently developed nanomaterial-based FRET and MEF for biosensors for the detection of nucleic acids in cancer diagnosis. Challenges and opportunities in this field are also discussed. We anticipate that the FRET and MEF-based biosensors discussed in this review will provide valuable information for the sensitive detection of nucleic acids and early diagnosis of cancers.