How magnetic levitation can help diagnose pancreatic cancer

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Magnetic levitation is commonly associated with incredibly rapid passenger transport trains. However, a group of scientists employed this technique to pave the way for the early diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma, a tumour that is as lethal as it is silent since early stages are characterised by a lack of specific symptoms. Therefore, pancreatic adenocarcinoma is diagnosed when already in advanced status in 90% of the cases. The incidence of this tumour is increasing and will possibly become the second cause of cancer-related death in the next decade. The decrease of its lethality necessarily involves the adoption of effective early-diagnosis methods.

A proof-of-concept study, published in Cancers, by Dr. Luca Digiacomo (Sapienza University of Rome, Italy) and colleagues, employed graphene oxide nanoparticles mixed with the patients’ plasma, taken with a standard blood sampling. Plasma proteins tend to spontaneously cover the nanoparticles forming a protein corona, whose composition is due to several factors that can reflect the patient’s health status. Nanoparticles are then moved into a magnetic field where they fluctuate according to specific patterns, revealing the presence of biomarkers associated with pancreatic cancer.

Schematic description of the research. Adapted from Cancers 2021, 13(20), 5155

Scientists gathered details on the interaction among plasma proteins and nanoparticles thanks to X-ray scattering experiments realised at the SAXS beamline at the Austrian CERIC Partner Facility at Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste. The results of this research are encouraging, and further work could lead to a new diagnostic assay for a highly lethal tumour that impacts many peoples’ lives.

Below the radio interview (in Italian) with Dr. Barbara Sartori (Graz Technical University) and Dr. Luca Digiacomo (Sapienza University of Rome) on their research work:

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:

Detection of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma by Ex Vivo Magnetic Levitation of Plasma Protein-Coated Nanoparticles. Digiacomo L., Quagliarini E., La Vaccara V., Coppola A., Coppola R., Caputo D., Amenitsch H., Sartori B., Caracciolo G., & Pozzi D., Cancers, 2021.