New nanosensor detects cancer biomarkers in drop of blood

Looking for cancer biomarkers in blood is a promising method for detecting metastatic cancer. It is less demanding than imaging techniques like MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). The main challenge to overcome is the extremely low concentrations of these markers, which makes it difficult to detect them. Researchers of the University of Twente and Wageningen University developed a nanosensor that accurately detects biomarkers for cancer in an extremely broad range of concentrations, from 10 particles per microliter to 1 million particles per microliter. Their development was featured on the cover of Nano Letters, a journal of the American Chemical Society.