Chung-Chiun Liu, Ph.D.

Abstract

Glypican-1 (GPC-1) has been recognized as biomarker of pancreatic cancer. Quantification of GPC-1 level is also pivotal to breast cancer and prostate cancer’s patients. We hereby report the first biosensor for GPC-1 detection. Instead of using crosslinking technique and surface immobilization of antibody, we applied a novel method for biosensor fabrication, using S-Acetylmercaptosuccinic anhydride (SAMSA) to modify the Anti-GPC-1 producing a thiol-linked Anti-GPC-1. The thiol-linked Anti-GPC-1 was then directly formed a single-layer antibody layer on the gold biosensor, minimizing the biosensor preparation steps significantly. Time of Flight Secondary Ions Mass Spectroscopy (TOF-SIMS) characterization verified the thiol-linked antibody layer and demonstrated a unique perspective for surface protein characterization. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was applied to quantify GPC-1 antigen in undiluted human serum with a concentration range of 5,000 pg/µL to 100 pg/µL. The performance of this newly designed biosensor was also compared with modified self-assembled monolayer system fabricated biosensor, demonstrating the high-sensitivity and high-reproducibility of the SAMSA modified antibody based biosensor. This simple fabrication method can also expand to detection of other biomolecules. The simplified operation process shows great potential in clinical application development… Read the full article on the Nature website.

Case Western Reserve University and ICBM Medical Inc. signed a one-year, option-to-license agreement to commercially advance a low-cost, rapid catalytic biomarker technology that improves patient screening and monitoring for a range of clinical conditions, from concussion to prostate cancer.

By leveraging existing biomarkers and developing new ones, ICBM Medical plans to commercialize its first clinical product applications, while establishing a pipeline for future biosensors. These biosensors are designed to outperform current tests more quickly and at a lower cost.

Distinguished University Professor Chung-Chiun (C.C.) Liu, Wallace R. Persons Professor of Sensor Technology and Control in Case Western Reserve’s Department of Chemical Engineering, has been developing the technology for more than eight  years.

The technology has been prototyped and tested by Liu, director of the university’s Electronics Design Center, and his colleagues from departments of Chemistry and Family Medicine in the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. Case Western Reserve has filed multiple patent applications on a range of clinical uses, and just recently received notice of allowance for prostate cancer detection in both the United States and European Union.

“Because of our belief in C.C. and his work, we’ve invested substantially in intellectual property and other enabling resources to give his technology its best chance of success,” said Mike Allan, senior licensing officer with the university’s Technology Transfer Office. “We’re pleased to work with ICBM on this mutual objective.”

During the next three years, researchers at Case Western Reserve University will team with NASA Glenn Research Center and firefighters nationally, from Cleveland to Oregon, to design and test sensors aimed at protecting firefighters from respiratory damage and illnesses.

The Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded the group a $1.5 million Assistance to Firefighters/Fire Prevention and Safety Grant to make prototypes.

The sensors will alert structural and wildland firefighters of hazards in the air after they’ve entered the phase called “fire overhauling or mop up.” At this stage, the main fire in buildings, forests or open land have been knocked down, and firefighters’ duties include cleaning up, detecting and preventing secondary fires, and managing other tasks….

“The sensors used in space detect harmful particulates, but the gases are limited to major species such as oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons,” said Fumiaki Takahashi, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Case Western Reserve, and leader of the effort.

Chung-Chiun Liu, the Wallace R. Persons Professor of Sensor Technology and Control in the department of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Case Western Reserve, will develop additional sensors to detect formaldehyde and acrolein gases, Takahashi said.