Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer

The expression level of the HER family is unreliable as a predictive marker for targeted therapies in cancer. Thus, there is a need to develop other biomarkers, which can be used to accurately select responsive patients for targeted therapies. The HER dimerization status may be more important than HER receptor expression per se in determining sensitivity or resistance to a given therapeutic agent. The aim of the study is to develop a FRET assay using dye conjugated secondary antibodies to assess HER receptor dimerization. Using primary antibodies from different species in conjunction with Alexa488 and Alexa546 conjugated secondary antibodies, we validated our EGFR/HER2 dimerization assay in three cell lines, EGFR positive A431 cells as well as HER2 positive breast cell lines BT474 and SKBR3 cells. Finally, we applied our assay to assess EGFR/HER2 dimerization in paraffin embedded cell pellets. Our results show promise for the assay to be applied to tumor samples in order to assess the prognostic significance and predictive value of HER receptor dimerization in various cancers.

The development of biosensors has seen recent growth owing to their wide range of potential applications from the defending of bioterrorism to the detection of various diseases. Recent investigations in highly sensitive nanomaterials containing nanotechnology suggest the possibility of its advanced applications as biosensors in different biomedical fields. Besides highlighting the characteristic features of different classes of advanced biosensor across different fields of potential application, this article gives a clear overview of some specific investigations related to the surface immobilizations of piezoelectric biosensors employing effective materials and advanced technologies. Further, the current development of piezoelectric biosensors in the detection of potential biomolecules for advanced biomedical applications is critically reviewed. The qualitative and quantitative sensitivity of piezoelectric biosensors, various expressions of resonant frequency shift with changes in mass, thickness, density, and stress for piezoelectric materials are distinctly explored. The importance of several novel nanomaterials for the detection of various diseased biomolecules is clearly illustrated. This study concludes that proper selection of materials is potential to bring improvement in quality as well as reduction in cost of advanced biosensor devices. © 2013 by ESG.

http://electrochemsci.org/papers/vol8/80608863.pdf