Novos sitemas óticos biomiméticos para o seguimento de biomarcadores de cancro

The main objective is to develop a portable device for direct optical reading with restricted access to healthcare professionals, to monitor the levels of five biomarkers associated with pancreatic cancer. The final response will be semi-quantitative, based on comparison with a graduated color scale, using reading under ultraviolet light available in accredited fluorescent reading software for this purpose. Ten objectives are proposed as follows: 1. Monitor and track cancer biomarker levels to predict disease recurrence in patients who suffer or have suffered from this health condition. 2. Develop portable devices for direct reading as a diagnostic means, allowing patients to monitor their own biomarker levels in real time. This involves the creation of simple fluorometric sensors based on quantum dots and carbon dots, which exhibit RGB color changes for visual quantification of cancer biomarkers under ultraviolet light. The colorimetric fluorescent paper test will allow naked-eye observation of fluorescence color variations when a human physiological sample containing the target analyte is added. 3. Develop a dual fluorescent paper sensor, which includes an internal reference system and a sensor system, offering flexibility and adequate sensitivity. 4. Innovate by printing the dual sensor on paper, which will exhibit an initial fluorescent color change when a human sample containing the target analyte is added, with the final result read on a colorimetric scale adjusted for each analyte. 5. Integrate the paper sensor with a software platform that will function as a color recognition application, reading the RGB coordinates of the color generated by the sample in real time and on the test paper. The sensor is designed to detect multiple cancer biomarkers simultaneously when the tested paper is irradiated under 365 nm UV light. 6. Read the signal generated in a semi-quantitative format, comparing the resulting color with the color associated with the range of values assigned on a paper scale used as a reference for that analyte. 7. Collaborate with an external SA company to develop an electronic diagnostic device based on open-source software and hardware, aiming to create a low-cost solution. 8. Use the proof-of-concept device generated to attract venture investors, protect intellectual property, and initiate a spin-off project to optimize the device and advance to commercialization. 9. Validate the referential RGB colorimetric scale in semi-quantitative results by collecting samples from symptomatic individuals of the cancer under study and asymptomatic individuals at risk of developing the disease, and evaluating the results by this scale for each biomarker. 10. Compare the RGB colors of the reference scale with the results obtained from certified laboratory tests for these biomarkers, in order to create an algorithm correlating the semi-quantitative values given by the RGB scale with the values obtained from certified tests.