An
interdisciplinary university/industry team at West Virginia
University (WVU) is merging nanoscience and microdevices to meet the
need for improved early lung cancer detection—an essential element
to improving survival rates. The vascular endothelial growth factor
(VEGF) protein is a cancer marker protein linked to tumor growth and
distribution; therefore, the ability to detect VEGF in very low
concentrations may permit early detection. The research team has been
successful in refining an anti-VEGF-coated microcantilever sensor so
that its sensitivity has been significantly improved and now exceeds
current assays by a factor of 25. Proof-of-concept experiments have
shown microcantilevers coated with anti-VEGF selectively detect VEGF
in the presence of other proteins.
The
research team is part of WVNano—West Virginia’s nanoscale science
and engineering initiative, with major funding from the state’s
National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Infrastructure Improvement
award. WVNano focuses on the convergence of materials, device and
biomolecular work to achieve new advances in molecular recognition
devices. NSF support enabled the formation of the interdisciplinary
research team, which includes faculty and students from WVU’s
Department of Physics, Department of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences,
and Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, in partnership with biotech
startup Protea Biosciences Inc. The members of the project research
team have become intimately familiar with a wide variety of
nanoscience-related techniques, including atomic force microscopy,
vacuum deposition, biochemistry, electron microscopy, and
electron-beam writing. The group’s long-term objective is to
develop novel VEGF detection techniques that increase the sensitivity
for VEGF by orders of magnitude over current methods (ELISA). Efforts
continue to improve the sensitivity, and, in parallel, the clinical
utility of the microcantilever-based VEGF sensor are being explored.
Partners:
Protea Biosciences, Inc, West Virginia University, Marshall
University
