A new method for detecting cancer-related mutations

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 (Image: Pixabay CC0)
(Image: Pixabay CC0)
Cancer causes mutations in cellular DNA. Detecting these mutations in a patient’s blood enables the most appropriate and effective anti-cancer treatments to be prescribed. However, detection of these mutations is only possible in specialized centers, which is time-consuming and costly. To remedy this situation, scientists at the University of Fribourg have developed nanosensors for cheaper, faster detection of these mutations.

Alterations in the DNA of cells are an essential step in the onset and progression of cancer. A liquid biopsy can detect these mutations in blood and tissue, and provide information on the type of cancer, its degree of malignancy and, above all, its sensitivity or resistance to specific anti-cancer drugs. As these analyses require specific equipment and specialized personnel, they can only be carried out in specialized centers, which explains why they are costly and time-consuming.

Fast, inexpensive solution

To solve this problem, Samet Kocabey, a researcher at the University of Fribourg in Curzio Rüegg’s team, has designed nanosensors capable of detecting mutations in the genetic code at very low concentrations. "These sensors then generate a fluorescent signal that can easily be processed by a flow cytometer, an instrument found in most hospitals and diagnostic laboratories," explains Samet Kocabey, "the analysis requires little practical work and can be carried out in a day, compared with 3 to 5 days with current methods, and at lower cost!

Sarah Cattin, head of the cell analysis facility, and Isabelle Gray, NRP intern, also contributed to the study.

Towards a new generation of biosensors

These results are important for three reasons.

Firstly, they simplify the detection of mutated DNA/RNA, making it accessible to a greater number of laboratories without the need for expensive equipment or specialized centers.

Secondly, it should be noted that these sensors can also be used to detect non-mutated RNA, extending their application to molecular biomedical research.

Ultimately, they may pave the way for the development of rapid, simple and inexpensive clinical tests for the detection of cancer mutations in tumor tissue and blood samples in more hospitals and diagnostic laboratories, which will naturally benefit a greater number of patients.

This discovery, recently published in the scientific journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics, has also been the subject of a patent and positions the University of Fribourg in the field of medical diagnostic technologies.

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Kocabey, S.; Cattin, S.; Gray, I.; Rüegg, C. Ultrasensitive Detection of Cancer-Associated Nucleic Acids and Mutations by Primer Exchange Reaction-Based Signal Amplification and Flow Cytometry. Biosensors and Bioelectronics 2025 , 267, 116839. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2­024.116839