Scientists Developed Unique Nanosensor to Diagnose Cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease

Researchers at National University of Science and Technology MISIS have created a unique, non-invasive nanosensor to measure copper levels in the body in real time. According to them, this opens up new possibilities in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cancer.

The results were published in the journal Analytical Chemistry.

Measuring copper levels in the body plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases associated with disorders of copper metabolism, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Wilson’s disease, Menkes syndrome, and various types of cancer. The researchers also explained that accurate determination of copper content is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of new copper-containing drugs and to study their accumulation in body tissues.

NUST MISIS experts have developed a universal, high-precision sensor that can measure physiological concentrations of copper in real time. It has been successfully used to determine copper content in a variety of biological samples, from individual cells to entire organs, the researchers reported. They stated that this development opens new perspectives in the diagnosis and follow-up of diseases related to copper metabolism disorders.

According to scientists, the new sensor has many advantages over existing analogues: It provides more accurate, real-time results and makes the measurement process less invasive. The authors of the study explained that the uniqueness of this development lies in the creation of the first nanoscale universal sensor capable of making measurements both on microscopic objects with a size of 10-100 microns and on entire organs. Other available sensors were typically designed for specific tasks and were significantly larger; this has severely limited their application, especially in biomedical research.

“Previously, such studies required large numbers of animals because the measurement procedure was invasive and required collection of tissue samples at multiple time points. By allowing multiple measurements to be made on the same animals, the new sensor significantly reduces the number of experimental animals needed and improves the performance of experimental animals.” “The accuracy and completeness of the data obtained,” said Roman Timoshenko, an engineer at the NUST MISIS biophysical scientific research laboratory.

He added that this development allows more sensitive monitoring of copper levels in studies on diseases related to copper metabolism disorders.

During the research, nano-sized quartz capillaries modified with a special compound for binding carbon, gold and specific copper were used. The detection principle is based on the electrochemical oxidation and reduction reaction of copper recorded via cyclic voltammetry.

“The team of researchers at NUST MISIS, led by Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Alexander Yerofeev, has been working for several years to create innovative medical technologies that will facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases in the future, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Wilson’s disease, etc. Developed by our scientists, it is used to measure copper levels in the body “The new high-precision sensor has many advantages over existing analogues: it is more accurate, less invasive and provides faster results.” said Alevtina. Chernikova, rector of NUST MISIS.

The scientists’ next step is to integrate the sensor into a compact device designed for long-term monitoring of metals in living organisms.