Diagnostics and monitoring of colorectal cancer with AuNP-APTASENSOR

OBJECTIVE: to develop and validate a novel method for diagnosing colorectal cancer (CRC) by semi-quantitative analysis of specific populations of plasma small extracellular nanovesicles (SEVs) using AuNP-aptasensor technology.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: the study used plasma samples from patients with colorectal cancer (n = 37), patients with Crohn’s disease (n = 10), and healthy donors (n = 32). Investigation of standard SEVs characteristics was performed using nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and flow cytometry; gold nanoparticle characteristics were analyzed using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and absorption spectroscopy. Semi-quantitative analysis of specific SEVs populations was performed using AuNP-aptasensor technology, employing a colorimetric method for result evaluation.

RESULTS: AuNP-aptasensors based on nine different DNA aptamers were developed and tested. An increase in the number of CRC-specific SEVs in the plasma of patients with CRC was shown compared to the plasma of donors and patients with Crohn’s disease. Optimized AuNP-aptasensor revealed following indicatirs of diagnostic significance: AUC — 0,95, specificity — 88,89%, sensitivity — 90,63%.In the group of patients with CRC, the correlation between tumor size and the results obtained using the AuNP-aptasensor was evaluated

CONCLUSION: assessing the quantity of CRC-specific plasma SEVs using AuNP-aptasensor technology is a promising method for diagnosing CRC.

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