Synergistic Analysis of Protein Corona and Haemoglobin Levels Detects Pancreatic Cancer
Damiano Caputo, Luca Digiacomo, Chiara Cascone, Daniela Pozzi, Sara Palchetti, Riccardo Di Santo, Erica Quagliarini, Roberto Coppola, Morteza Mahmoudi, Giulio Caracciolo
Abstract
Simultaneous detection of multiple analytes from a single biological sample is gaining more attention in the development of more reliable and point-of-care diagnostic devices. We developed a multiplexed strategy that combined outcomes of clinical biomarkers with analysis of the protein corona that forms around graphene oxide sheets upon exposure to patient's plasma. As a paradigmatic case study, we selected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), mainly because of the absence of effective detection strategies that resulted in an extremely low five-year survival rate after diagnosis (<10%). Association of protein corona analysis and haemoglobin levels discriminated PDAC patients from healthy volunteers in up to 90% of cases. If further confirmed in larger-cohort studies, this approach may be used in the detection of PDAC.