Surface Functionalization of an Ovarian Cancer Diagnostic Biosensor

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of death among women in United States and the disease has 1.4% (1 in 71) lifetime risk. Patients with ovarian cancer have a short median survival time after diagnosis with their 5-year survival rate being less than 40%. Early stage ovarian cancer represents an important target for screening since it is lethal in most late stage cases (1). Currently the primary screening procedure for ovarian cancer are blood levels of cancer antigen (CA) 125, however CA 125 levels can also be elevated due to other disorders and do not provide conclusive results (2). Utilizing the research done at the Cell and Molecular Biology department at the University of South Florida which conclusively revealed that urinary levels of bcl-2 are elevated in ovarian cancer patients (3), this research it the first of its kind looking to assess the capture of an analyte protein on a series of potential bioconjugated surfaces for use in a novel acoustic biosensor. Therefore, this research addresses the need for a reliable and economic testing platform to detect ovarian cancer.