PubReading [140] - Peptide Nucleic Acid-Based Biosensors for Cancer Diagnosis - R. D’Agata, M. Giuffrida and G. Spoto

<p>The monitoring of <strong>DNA</strong> and RNA biomarkers freely circulating in the blood constitutes the basis of innovative cancer detection methods based on <strong>liquid biopsy</strong>. Such methods are expected to provide new opportunities for a better understanding of cancer disease at the molecular level, thus contributing to improved patient outcomes. Advanced biosensors can advance possibilities for cancer-related nucleic acid <strong>biomarkers</strong> detection. In this context, <strong>peptide nucleic acids</strong> (PNAs) play an important role in the fabrication of highly sensitive biosensors. This review provides an overview of recently described <strong>PNA</strong>-based biosensors for cancer biomarker detection. One of the most striking features of the described detection approaches is represented by the possibility to detect target nucleic acids at the ultra-low concentration with the capability to identify single-base mutations.</p><p><em>doi: 10.3390/molecules22111951 - 2017</em></p>