An NGQD Based Diagnostic Tool for Pancreatic Cancer

Ajgaonkar, Ryan

Publication

An NGQD Based Diagnostic Tool for Pancreatic Cancer

Ajgaonkar, Ryan

Date

2021

Additional date(s)

5/19/2021

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer is extremely difficult to detect at early stages and has a low five-year-survival rate. Nanoparticles have recently emerged as frontrunners for diagnostic applications due to their small size in the 1-100nm range which facilitates one-on-one interactions with a variety of biomolecules like nucleic acids. Our goal is to utilize the fluorescence emission spectra of NGQDs (Nitrogen doped graphene quantum dots) to detect the presence of pancreatic cancer miRNAs in the blood. The platform is comprised of NGQDs interacting with ssDNA (the bait) via pi-pi stacking between double bonds in both structures. Results indicate that the platform can distinguish single stranded and double stranded DNA, specifically detect complementary DNA strands, and achieve sensitivity in the nanomolar range.