Paper-Based Biosensor for Early Detection of Oral Cancer

Abstract

The significance of paper-based biosensors for the early stage detection of oral cancer and their compatibility with affordable and low-cost diagnostics have been discussed in this article. Oral cancer is a major public health concern in India, and early-stage detection can be a great boon to the public. Among all the available methods for diagnosis, paper-based biosensors have proven to be very efficient in all aspects. It requires a very small volume of sample and very little time, and the process of detection is very simple. The diagnostic platform described here employs a hydrophobic material (wax) to pattern microfluidic channels on a hydrophilic substrate (paper) to detect the desired biomarker in saliva as biological fluid. Biomarker detection in saliva is advantageous because it is a noninvasive and potentially diagnostic sample. One of the primary benefits of using saliva in diagnosis is that sample collection is simple and noninvasive, significantly reducing the discomfort associated with blood collection and the privacy concerns associated with urine collection. The presence of biomarkers such as salivary cotinine and nitrite can be detected on a single paper-based analytical device, allowing for parallel quantification of the biomarkers. Calorimetric assays are used to analyze the biomarkers qualitatively, and ImageJ software is used to analyze the biomarkers quantitatively.