August 2016
Spotlight Summary by Summer Gibbs
Sensitive and selective detection of prostate-specific antigen using a photonic crystal nanolaser
Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) is a well characterized biomarker for prostate cancer that can be detected in the blood. Studies using PSA for prostate cancer detection have demonstrated varied sensitivity and specificity for the disease. In contrast, utilization of PSA levels to monitor disease recurrence following therapy have been quite successful. PSA levels after surgery are currently undetectable using clinical assays and rise in circulating PSA is indicative of prostate cancer recurrence. PSA levels following radiation therapy can be more difficult to interpret, but rising PSA levels can also be used to track disease recurrence. Circulating PSA levels are typically monitored using biochemical methods such as the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Typical detection limits for standard PSA-specific ELISA kits are ~0.3 pM, which is applicable to identifying prostate cancer recurrence. However, improved sensitivity in detecting circulating PSA could lengthen the available treatment window for recurrent prostate cancer.
In the work by Hachuda et al. a method for the detection of low-concentration biomarkers using a photonic crystal semiconductor was developed. When exposed to the biomarker of interest a red shift in wavelength was seen during room temperature photopumping, enabling detection of low concentrations of protein based biomarkers. Using the photonic nanocrystal assay, PSA concentrations as low as 1 fM could be detected, which is below the detection limit of conventional PSA specific ELISA kits. Signal intensity and stability of the photonic crystal assay detection of PSA were improved with the addition of a surfactant such as ethanolamine. Photonic nanocrystal PSA assay sensitivity was found to be maintained even in the presence of a contaminating protein such as bovine serum albumin (BSA) when the BSA concentration was orders of magnitude higher than the PSA concentration. This is an exciting development that may improve the ability to detect PSA as well as other biomarkers in the blood to detect disease recurrence and may aid in future disease diagnosis.
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In the work by Hachuda et al. a method for the detection of low-concentration biomarkers using a photonic crystal semiconductor was developed. When exposed to the biomarker of interest a red shift in wavelength was seen during room temperature photopumping, enabling detection of low concentrations of protein based biomarkers. Using the photonic nanocrystal assay, PSA concentrations as low as 1 fM could be detected, which is below the detection limit of conventional PSA specific ELISA kits. Signal intensity and stability of the photonic crystal assay detection of PSA were improved with the addition of a surfactant such as ethanolamine. Photonic nanocrystal PSA assay sensitivity was found to be maintained even in the presence of a contaminating protein such as bovine serum albumin (BSA) when the BSA concentration was orders of magnitude higher than the PSA concentration. This is an exciting development that may improve the ability to detect PSA as well as other biomarkers in the blood to detect disease recurrence and may aid in future disease diagnosis.
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Article Information
Sensitive and selective detection of prostate-specific antigen using a photonic crystal nanolaser
Shoji Hachuda, Takumi Watanabe, Daichi Takahashi, and Toshihiko Baba
Opt. Express 24(12) 12886-12892 (2016) View: Abstract | HTML | PDF