RESUMEN
Introduction: Glioblastoma (grade IV) is the most aggressive primary brain tumor in adults, representing one of the biggest therapeutic challenges due to its highly aggressive nature. In this study, we investigated the impact of millimeter waves on tridimensional glioblastoma organoids derived directly from patient tumors. Our goal was to explore novel therapeutic possibilities in the fight against this challenging disease. Methods: The exposure setup was meticulously developed in-house, and we employed a comprehensive dosimetry approach, combining numerical and experimental methods. Biological endpoints included a global transcriptional profiling analysis to highlight possible deregulated pathways, analysis of cell morphological changes, and cell phenotypic characterization which are all important players in the control of glioblastoma progression. Results and discussion: Our results revealed a significant effect of continuous millimeter waves at 30.5 GHz on cell proliferation and apoptosis, although without affecting the differentiation status of glioblastoma cells composing the organoids. Excitingly, when applying a power level of 0.1 W (Root Mean Square), we discovered a remarkable (statistically significant) therapeutic effect when combined with the chemotherapeutic agent Temozolomide, leading to increased glioblastoma cell death. These findings present a promising interventional window for treating glioblastoma cells, harnessing the potential therapeutic benefits of 30.5 GHz CW exposure. Temperature increase during treatments was carefully monitored and simulated with a good agreement, demonstrating a negligible involvement of the temperature elevation for the observed effects. By exploring this innovative approach, we pave the way for improved future treatments of glioblastoma that has remained exceptionally challenging until now.
RESUMEN
A fully integrated CMOS circuit based on a vector network analyzer and a transmission-line-based detection window for circulating tumor cell (CTC) and exosome analysis is presented for the first time. We have introduced a fully integrated architecture, which eliminates the undesired parasitic components and enables high-sensitivity, to analyze extremely low-concentration CTC in blood. The detection window was designed on the high-sensitive coplanar waveguide line. To validate the operation of the proposed system, a test chip was fabricated using 65-nm CMOS technology. Measurements were performed after adding a tiny lump of silicone or a droplet of water on its detection window. The measured results show |S_21| degradation of -1.96 dB and -6.04 dB for the silicone and the droplet, respectively, at 1.4 GHz. In addition, in another measurement using magnetic beads, it is confirmed that the proposed circuit can analyze even low concentrations of 20 beads/µL. As well as microbeads, measurement with CTCs was successfully demonstrated.