Better Technology For Liquid Cancer Biopsies

Better Technology For Liquid Cancer BiopsiesVidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DUl8icojego/A new “lab on a spinning disc” can detect and speed the analysis of cancer markers that will help to revolutionize both diagnosis and management of malignant disease. Bioengineers at Boston’s Mass General Hospital have developed a fully automated device named SpinEx that is capable of isolating and analyzing tiny particles in the blood known as extracellular vesicles, or EVs. These vesicles are released by tumor cells and carry molecular signals that reveal whether cancer is present and pinpoint the type and the quantity of that cancerCurrent extracellular vesicle analysis methods are slow, manual, and limited to measuring one marker at a time. SpinEx, in contrast, speeds the process by combining the multiple steps of plasma separation, EV enrichment, and protein labeling of a minuscule 150 microliters of blood onto a single spinning disc that completes the process automatically.Here is how it works.  The tiny sample of blood is loaded onto the microfluidic disc that contains preloaded reagents and micro channels. Then the disc spinning begins and rapidly leads to separation of red and white blood cells from the plasma. Next, the tumor cells extracellular vesicles bearing tumor markers are enriched using size-based filtration, affinity and charge interactions, and chromatography resins. After concentration, the extracellular vesicles are captured on microscopic beads and the plasma spun away into waste chambers. These bead-attached vesicles are next labeled using fluorescent antibodies. Each type of vesicle bearing different tumor markers can be labeled with different fluorescent markers for differentiation during the measurement phase. Finally, as the disc spins, LEDs are used to excite fluorescence that is captured by cameras with data fed to quantifying software.Two samples can be run simultaneously. The resultant unique EV protein “fingerprints” accurately distinguish cancer from non-cancer samples and successfully identify five different cancer types.After further clinical testing, this SpinEx technology will support earlier cancer detection, improved tumor classification, and ongoing monitoring following therapy all from a simple blood draw.https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-lab-disc-device-paves-automated.htmlhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-025-01601-7https://wefluidics.com/sys-nd/1349.html#cancer #diagnosis #ev #vesicles #oncologycancer, diagnosis, ev, vesicles, oncology