The biosensor team publishes book chapter

Optical Waveguide-Based Biosensors for the Detection of Breast Cancer Biomarkers

The Biosensor Team at Los Alamos has written a book chapter titled, "Optical Waveguide-Based Biosensors for the Detection of Breast Cancer Biomarkers" in the newly published Biosensors and Molecular Technologies for Cancer Diagnostics (May 2012, CRC Press).

The chapter describes the wave-guide based biosensor technologies and is titled, "Optical Technologies for Cancer Detection and Diagnostics: Evanescent Wave and Waveguide Biosensors." It covers the waveguide technology developed at Los Alamos and its application to breast cancer biomarker detection. It also describes four other optical technologies developed elsewhere that are used for cancer detection. The Los Alamos biosensor is a rapid, sensitive and specific detection platform for the early detection of disease. In addition to breast cancer, it has been used to detect tuberculosis, anthrax, and a host of other pathogens.

The book addresses cancer molecular diagnostics, including genomic and proteomic approaches, from the perspective of biosensors and biodetection. It explains how to measure and understand molecular markers using biosensors and discusses the medical advantages of rapid and accurate cancer diagnostics. It also describes optical, electrochemical, and optomechanical biosensor technologies, with a focus on cancer analysis and the clinical utility of these technologies for cancer detection, diagnostics, prognostics, and treatment.
The goal of the book is to make biosensor technology more accessible to molecular biologists, oncologists, pathologists, and engineers, and to integrate biosensor technology into mainstream clinical practice. The book describes how a range of biosensors can aid in the diagnosis of cancer.

Chapter authors are Harshini Mukundan (C-PCS), John E. Shively (C-PCS), Aaron S. Anderson (C-PCS), Nile Hartman (NGIMAT, Ltd), W. Kevin Grace (LANL Retired), and Basil I. Swanson (B7). The optical wave-guide biosensor has won numerous technology awards in recent years. More can be read about it on the Biosensor Team website. Funding for this work comes from the National Institutes of Health.

Biosensors and Molecular Technologies for Cancer Diagnostics
May 29, 2012 by Taylor & Francis - 844 Pages Editor(s): Keith E. Herold, University of Maryland, College Park, USA ; Avraham Rasooly, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, Maryland, USA and the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.

9/5/2012