Paper-based electrochemical device for early detection of integrin αvβ6 expressing tumors

Despite progress in the prevention and diagnosis of cancer, current technologies for tumor detection present several limitations including invasiveness, toxicity, inaccuracy, lengthy testing duration and high cost. Therefore, innovative diagnostic techniques that integrate knowledge from biology, oncology, medicinal and analytical chemistry are now quickly emerging in the attempt to address these issues. Following this approach, here we developed a paper-based electrochemical device for detecting cancer-derived Small Extracellular Vesicles (S-EVs) in fluids. S-EVs were obtained from cancer cell lines known to express, at a different level, the alpha v beta 6 integrin receptor, a well-established hallmark of numerous epithelial cancer types. The resulting biosensor turned out to recognize alpha v beta 6-containing S-EVs down to a limit of 0.7*103 S-EVs/mL with a linear range up to 105 S-EVs /mL, and a relative standard deviation of 11%, thus it may represent a novel opportunity for alpha v beta 6 expressing cancers detection.The detection of cancer in its early stages can greatly prevent disease development, however, current technologies for tumor detection present several limitations. Here, the authors develop a paper-based electrochemical device for detecting cancer-derived small extracellular vesicles (S-EVs) in fluids, recognizing alpha v beta 6-containing S-EVs down to a limit of 0.7*103 S-EVs/mL with a linear range up to 105 S-EVs/mL.