A study conducted by the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI) developed a contact lens that can detect and identify exosomes, nanometer-sized vesicles present in human fluids that may serve as diagnostic biomarkers (a molecule, gene, or characteristic that can be used to identify a particular pathological or physiological process, disease, etc.) for cancer.
The results of this study have been published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials [1].
"Exosomes are a rich source of markers and biomolecules which can be targeted for several biomedical applications," said Ali Khadem Hosseini, Ph.D., TIBI's Director and CEO. "The methodology that our team has developed greatly facilitates our ability to tap into this source [3]."
Exosomes are capable of transporting a variety of biomolecules between cells. It has also been shown that exosomes contain various surface proteins - some of which are common to all exosomes. In contrast, others are increased in response to cancer, viral infections, or injury [4].
Additionally, exosomes derived from tumours can have a significant impact on the progression of tumours. As a result of these capabilities, exosomes have been widely used in cancer diagnosis and prognosis/treatment prediction.
However, it has been difficult to isolate exosomes in sufficient quantities and purity for this purpose. In addition, the current method of analysis requires time-consuming elements that require a lot of effort [5].
Furthermore, the detection of isolated exosomes is complicated by the need for expensive and space-consuming equipment.