RESUMEN
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the 7th commonest cancer in the UK and the most lethal urological malignancy; 50% of all RCC patients will die from the condition. However, if identified early enough, small RCCs are usually cured by surgery or percutaneous procedures, with 95% 10 year survival. This study describes a newly developed non-invasive urine-based assay for the early detection of RCC. Our approach uses encoded magnetically controllable heterostructures as a substrate for immunoassays. These heterostructures have molecular recognition abilities and embedded patterned codes for a rapid identification of RCC biomarkers. The magnetic heterostructures developed for this study have a magnetic configuration designed for a remote multi axial control of their orientation by external magnetic fields, this control facilitates the code readout when the heterostructures are in liquid. Furthermore, the optical encoding of each set of heterostructures provides a multiplexed analyte capture platform, as different sets of heterostructures, specific to different biomarkers can be mixed together in a patient sample. Our results show a precise magnetic control of the heterostructures with an efficient code readout during liquid immunoassays. The use of functionalised magnetic heterostructures as a substrate for immunoassay is validated for urine specimen spiked with recombinant RCC biomarkers. Initial results of the newly proposed screening method on urine samples from RCC patients, and controls with no renal disorders are presented in this study. Comprehensive optimisation cycles are in progress to validate the robustness of this technology as a novel, non-invasive screening method for RCC.
RESUMEN
This study describes the use of highly versatile, lithographically defined magnetic microdiscs. Gold covered magnetic microdiscs are used in both radiosensitizing cancer cells, acting as intracellular emitters of secondary electrons during radiotherapy, and as well as inducing mechanical damage by exerting a mechanical torque when exposed to a rotating magnetic field. This study reveals that lithographically defined microdiscs with a uniform size of 2 microns in diameter highly increase the DNA damage and reduce the glioblastoma colony formation potential compared to conventional radiation therapy. Furthermore, the addition of mechanical disruption mediated by the magnetic component of the discs increased the efficiency of brain cancer cell killing.