Biosensor to detect chemotherapeutic drugs related to chemoresistance

• Grant number: 18/00749-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: March 29, 2018
• End date: September 28, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Ronaldo Censi Faria
• Grantee: Elsa María Materón Vásques
• Supervisor: A.T. Charlie Johnson
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Pennsylvania, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 16/00991-5 - Study of Detoxification Enzymes Interaction with chemotherapeutic drugs and its relationship with chemoresistance, BP.PD

Abstract

The therapeutic efficacy of drugs widely used in cancer treatments for a range of cancerous tumors and other pathologies are found to be affected by intrinsic or acquired resistance that may develop during the treatment. This has become one of the most crucial problems of medicine, more specifically in therapy against cancer. Therefore, analytical methods to monitor chemotherapy resistance (and consequently effectiveness of anticancer drugs) are highly desired. This can be attained through the study of the action mechanism and the properties of detoxification enzymes that can be used in devices for detecting problems related to drug metabolism. The main objective of this project is to immobilize metallothionein and glutathione-S-transferase present in the metabolism of neoplastic drugs on graphene field effect transistors, for the purpose of detecting such drugs. The final aim is to monitor urine or blood in patients. We believe that the field-effect transistors will be an essential contribution towards the improvement of chemotherapy treatments. (AU)