Development of electrochemical sensors for nucleic acid biomarkers
File(s)
Author(s)
Meng, Xiaotong
Type
Thesis
Abstract
Over the decades, numerous techniques have been developed for cancer diagnosis, based on high resolution imaging, body fluid analysis, and tissue biopsies. While these methods are effective at identifying late-stage carcinomas, they are either invasive or lack sensitivity for early diagnosis. Imaging techniques for instance often do not have the resolution required to detect small solid tumours in the early stages of cancer. Bodily fluids contain a broad range of clinically useful molecular biomarkers and the analysis of liquid biopsies (e.g. blood tests) have great potential as non- or minimally invasive diagnostic tools for many pathologies, including cancer. This study presents original nucleic acid-based electrochemical biosensors with potential future applications for the detection of cancer-associated biomarkers from bodily fluids, with a specific focus on circulating microRNA biomarkers for early diagnosis of prostate cancer, chosen as our model system. Sequence-specific capturing of nucleic acids was achieved by functionalizing electrode surfaces with bespoke molecular probes based on a Peptide Nucleic Acid (or PNA) scaffold using various immobilization chemistries and strategies, including gold-thiol bonds, silanization of hydroxyls on carbon followed by click chemistry, trans-esterification, carbodiimide chemistry, and polystreptavidin-biotin interaction...
Version
Open Access
Date Issued
2023-08-21
Date Awarded
01/11/2023
License URL
Advisor
O'Hare, Danny
Ladame, Sylvain
Sponsor
Imperial College London
China Scholarship Council
Publisher Department
Bioengineering
Publisher Institution
Imperial College London
Qualification Level
Doctoral
Qualification Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)