Objective
Cancer causes ~10 million deaths annually and a projected $25.2 trillion economic burden by 2050. Nearly half of cases are diagnosed late, underscoring the need for rapid and sensitive diagnostic tools. The KRAS oncogene is a major driver of colorectal, pancreatic, and lung cancers and serves as a critical biomarker for early detection, prognosis, treatment selection, and recurrence monitoring. With approved KRAS inhibitors and >85 investigational agents, the demand for accurate mutation testing is rising.
Current circulating tumor DNA assays rely on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and next-generation sequencing (NGS), which achieve low mutant allele fraction (MAF) thresholds but require thermal cycling, costly instruments, and central laboratories. Optical and electrochemical alternatives simplify hardware but remain limited to picomolar detection and often lack selectivity in high wild-type backgrounds.
To address these challenges, I introduce PEAKRAS, a highly sensitive, dual-amplification photoelectrochemical (PEC) assay for KRAS mutation detection. The platform physically integrates mismatch hairpin recycling with singlet oxygen–mediated PEC redox cycling, enabling two layers of amplification without thermal cycling or electrode modification. This design targets a limit of detection of 0.1–10 fM while enabling reliable discrimination of mutant alleles below 1% MAF in plasma. By combining molecular selectivity encoded in mismatch hairpin kinetics with a simple, portable PEC transduction scheme, PEAKRAS overcomes major barriers to point-of-care mutation testing.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
2000 Antwerpen
Belgium
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.