The assessment of bio-humoral markers beyond clinical evaluation would allow a more comprehensive pheno/endotyping of patients affected by chronic inflammatory diseases. Therapy personalization would require a profile of the mediators that are relevant in the disease pathogenesis and that well correlate with prognosis. Currently, the measurement of multiple biomarkers is not included in patient evaluation because it has high costs, requires centralized laboratories, experienced personnel and bulky equipment and is time-consuming. The present proposal aims at developing and validating a panel of biosensors easy to use and that match or surpass conventional standards in regards to time, accuracy and cost to deliver point-of-care diagnostics of chronic inflammatory diseases. These biosensors will be applied to easily accessible samples (blood, urine, saliva). This will be achieved through the involvement of a multidisciplinary team including engineers, biologists, and clinicians. These innovative sensors will lead to a multidimensional evaluation of the patient paving the way toward a Precision Medicine approach.
The proposed technology has several advantages compared to the traditional methods used to evaluate soluble biomarkers including:
- simplicity of use and data analysis;
- short assay time: results obtained in less than one hour;
- high portability: small-sized system that can be used for point-of-care diagnostics;
- lower interferences coming from the matrix of the biological samples compared to optical techniques.
Furthermore, the proposal will have a strong impact in different areas. First of all, it will bring innovation in the medical field as it will develop a sensitive element capable of measuring biomarkers in biological fluids. This will set the stage for an (ever closer) future of precision medicine in chronic diseases and for future applications in telemedicine for remote (at the patient's home) assessment of the daily bio-humoral setting. The impact will be strong also in the field of electrocatalysis and sensing improving knowledge for the detection of species at very low concentration.