Chemically and Biologically Responsive Nanoparticle Systems for Biomarker Detection and Combination Cancer Therap

The uniqueness and expression of miRNAs as biomarkers in certain cancers has the potential to radically alter the detection, and therefore the treatment, of the disease. Not only are current detection methods time consuming, and not sensitive enough for biomedical applications, but these small RNAs have yet to be fully utilized in treatment. By utilizing different nanomaterials we aimed to create novel nanodevices for the early, sensitive and specific detection of these biomarkers in a minimally invasive way and develop dual drug releasing nanoparticles, which are entirely controllable, to aid in the treatment of resistant cancer phenotypes.;The nanodevices for detection are simple to create and operate and have the potential to transform early detection due to their two-dimensional nanomaterial platform and the properties it brings. Utilizing fluorescently labeled DNA or DNA-analogues as probes, which are silent prior to target recognition, enables a sensitive and specific detection with fluorescence spectroscopy, capable of rapidly determining the presence of a miRNA of interest from a large total RNA pool or liquid biopsies (such as blood, urine, saliva). The nanoparticles for treatment utilize special linker molecules, and a single trigger, for two different release time points and allow for biologically relevant activity of the drugs. The activation of our nanoparticles uses bioorthogonal chemistry, which offers no cytotoxicity outside of the chemotherapeutics.;Here we demonstrate that these technologies and methodologies can potentially serve as alternative detection approaches for novel disease biomarkers and small molecules or enhanced cancer treatment options. These approaches can be combined with current existing methods and are significant for preclinical or clinical studies.