Multiplex electrochemical profiling of Extracellular vesicles for early cancer diagnosis

Circulating biomarkers provide useful indicators of biological processes in the human body, and their concentrations in biofluids have been used for clinical risk assessment, diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of therapeutic outcomes. Abnormal concentrations of circulating biomarkers are associated with health conditions. Electrochemical detection is a promising tool to detect the levels of circulating biomarkers in biofluids. Additionally, electrochemical sensors enable high throughput and rapid analysis of such biomarkers in bodily fluids for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. The key challenge for early diagnostics is for the rapid detection of low concentrations of circulating biomarkers in small sample volumes, typically in a complex mixture with large background noise. Moreover, the increased complexity of diseases (such as inflammatory diseases, dementia or cancer) demands the multiplex sensing - the simultaneous detection of a panel of biomarkers for precise diagnosis. This project aims to develop ultrasensitive graphene-based immunoassays for the multiplex detection of extracellular vesicles for early cancer diagnostics. Specifically, the graphene based electrochemical biosensors are promising due to its high sensitivity and selectivity, miniaturisation possibility and adaptability for large scale manufacturing. The student will investigate (a) designing of multiplex graphene sensors; (b) optimisation the surface chemistries for successful bio-functionalisation with the antibodies, (c) develop electrochemical sensor assays for the precise detection of tumour derived extracellular vesicle surface proteins and (d) demonstrate real-time detection of clinically validated multiple biomarkers relevant to cancer.