Graphene biosensor developed for lung cancer detection

A team of researchers at the University of Exeter have used multi-layered graphene to create electrodes for a biosensor that shows the ability to sense three of the most common lung cancer biomarkers of ethanol, isopropanol and acetone across different concentrations. They believe their development could enhance diagnosis of lung cancer. In addition to demonstrating superior abilities to detect cancer, the graphene biosensor is also reusable and therefore cheaper than the current electronic nose devices, which analyse compounds in the vapour of human breath.
Study co-author Ben Hogan, a postgraduate researcher from the University of Exeter, said: “The new biosensors which we have developed show that graphene has significant potential for use as an electrode in e-nose devices. For the first time, we have shown that with suitable patterning graphene can be used as a specific, selective and sensitive detector for biomarkers. We believe that with further development of our devices, a cheap, reusable and accurate breath test for early-stage detection of lung cancer can become a reality.”