(Invited) Paper-Based SERS Quantitative Analysis for Cancer Diagnosis and Subtyping

Abstract

Paper-based biosensors are typically low-cost and user-friendly, which enable fast and easy detection of biomarkers of pathological significance for disease point-of-care diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring. Quantitative analysis of biomarkers in body fluids provides a good opportunity for early diagnosis, prompt treatment and longitudinal therapeutic surveillance of diseases such as cancer. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a powerful spectroscopic analytical technique capable of ultrasensitive and nondestructive analysis of biomarkers directly in biological samples with a multitude of advantages, including high sensitivity, molecular specificity, powerful multiplex detection capability, and excellent chemo/photostability. This talk will present our recent work on the development of paper-based SERS biosensing platforms for quantitative analysis of biomarkers. We have successfully innovated a series of paper-based SERS biosensing platforms, including (i) a freestanding SERS biosensor with excellent condensing enrichment capability for quantitative label-free detection of trace fentanyl in biofluids, (ii) a SERS-vertical flow biosensor for multiplexed quantitative profiling of exosomal proteins in clinical serum samples of patients, realizing noninvasive breast cancer subtyping and longitudinal treatment monitoring, and (iii) SERS-lateral flow biosensors for quantification of specific biomarkers (e.g., serum exosomes, proteins) of disease diagnosis and post-operative assessment. We demonstrate exceptional performances of these paper-based SERS biosensors for diverse biosensing applications. We believe that these paper-based SERS biosensors could be promising tools for point-of-care diagnosis in both clinical and field settings.