Project description
Innovative sensors for early prostate cancer diagnosis
In Europe, prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most frequent cancer diagnoses in men. Since PCa is usually asymptomatic in the early stages, there is a worrying trend of late diagnosis. Low levels of cellular cancer biomarkers as prostate-specific membrane antigen are present in blood up to five years before diagnosis. However, existing PCa screening methods lack sufficient sensitivity for the early diagnosis of circulating cancerous cells. The EU-funded Tools-To-Sense project will develop fast and reliable methods based on electrochemical or optical sensing. The project will integrate chemical sensors into innovative sensing devices tailored to target PCa cells for molecular imaging applications to assess circulating PCa cell concentration.
Objective
This Proof-of-concept project will focus on the innovative exploitation of new diagnostic sensor prototypes which will tackle the early diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa), one of the greatest concerns for ageing men worldwide.
The development of fast and reliable methods for detecting PCa by electrochemical or optical biosensing will address the unmet need for an early diagnosis and for monitoring non-invasively the PCa evolution post-diagnosis.
Current PCa screening methods detect the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), but struggle to achieve detection limits below 1 ng/ml. This level of sensitivity is insufficient for the detection of circulating cancerous cells before symptoms of the disease appear: low levels of cellular cancer biomarkers such as PSMA (Prostate-specific membrane antigen) are present in blood up to 5 years before diagnosis.
More accurate sensors interfaced with an actuator in sensing devices using lab-on-the-chip and applicable in ‘real-time’ will be devised hereby. The innovative prototypes of Tools-To-Sense will incorporate the chemical sensors already available through the underlining ERC Consolidator Grant O2Sense, which are tailored to target PCa cells for molecular imaging applications. These will be able to estimate the concentration of circulating PCa cells as the complex analyte under interrogation. We will focus on target identification and validation, bioassay development and quality control for early detection of PCa using nanotechnology. Biosensors incorporating peptides-functionalised graphene substrates will be assembled since field-effect transistors can achieve high sensitivity for the detection of a panel of PCa biomarkers. New biosensors incorporating dedicated molecular species that provide information about their chemical environment by generating a physical signal consisting of a combined electrochemical and fluorescence emission will be homologated by Tools-To-Sense.
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.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology prostate cancer
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering sensors biosensors
- engineering and technology environmental biotechnology biosensing
- engineering and technology nanotechnology nano-materials two-dimensional nanostructures graphene
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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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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
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.
ERC-POC-LS - ERC Proof of Concept Lump Sum Pilot
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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) ERC-2020-PoC
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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.
BA2 7AY BATH
United Kingdom
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.