A standalone micro biochip to monitor the cancer progression by measuring cancer antigens as a point-of-care (POC) device for enhanced cancer management

Abstract

FDA has approved the cancer biomarkers like CA-125 (Cancer Antigen-125), HE4 (Human Epididymis Protein 4), PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) etc., to monitor the cancer progression by measuring the concentration levels of biomarkers in the biofluid samples of the patients. This research paper explains the detection process of the Cancer Antigens-CA 125 from a micro volume of the biofluid sample. The biochip is incorporated with the sensing platform in a microfluidic channel to detect the cancer antigens during the biofluid flow in the microchannel. The sensing platform is designed with multiple layers, in order to enhance the antibody immobilization on nano circuit and thus the detection signal. The antigen-antibody interaction during the biofluid flow on the immobilized antibodies in the microchannel change the capacitance measurements in the sensing circuit. The change in the capacitance indicates the targeted cancer antigens concentration in the biofluid sample. The concentration of CA-125 antigens used in the experiment is 55ug/ml at a pH of 7.4, in order to establish the functionality of the biochip. The change in capacitance after the antigen-antibody interaction is 679.62 pF is when compared to the bare electrodes. The In-situ realtime measurement of cancer biomarkers from a finger prick blood sample in a simple and easy way using the micro biochip helps to monitor the cancer progression more easily and thus enable the enhanced cancer management.