Self-Monitoring of Prostate cancer by Automated hybrid Recognition of Exosomal miRNA: toward personalized analytical Tool

Tumor-derived circulating exosomes are a suitable, readily accessible reservoir of cancer biomarkers for disease process analysis.

The microRNAs (miRNAs) inside the exosomes provide information about the mechanisms of change in cancer of affected individuals. Quantitative determination of miRNAs in the exosome, a clinical area of unmet need, is tempting but challenging.

The main objectives of the proposal are to develop a non-invasive, affordable, user-friendly, and deliverable platform that can measure mutant miRNA-107 in prostate cancer (PCa)-associated exosomes with unmatched accuracy, combining a hybrid oligonucleotides (ONs)-nanomaterials integrated composite system with an E-PAD.

The proposed platform offers ""Self-Monitoring of Prostate Cancer by Automated hybrid Recognition of Exosomal miRNA: towards personalized analytical Tool"" named "" SMART"".

SMART provides a universal technology for non-invasive PCa diagnosis and quantitative tracking of miRNA levels in cancer-derived exosomes in a very simple and effortless manner in biofluids such as serum and urine.

The novelty of the proposed interdisciplinary project work will evolve into the next generation of intelligent point-of-care (POC) tools for precision medicine.

This proposal will contribute to the sustainability of the healthcare system by enabling patients to stratify and/or predict disease, thereby improving clinical decision making.

This MSCA PF will be carried out at the University of Naples, Italy, will provide the researcher with advanced technical training in exosome isolation, PCR and DNA sequencing, molecular biology, microfluidics, pathology, nanomaterials synthesis, analytical techniques, proposal and manuscript preparation, and academic supervision in research management.

The proposed multidisciplinary collaboration in the SMART project has resulted in a new generation of smart medical devices with functions comparable to existing highly specialized hospital devices.