Project 3. Theoretical and experimental bases for the development of biosensors based on nanomaterials and lectins for the detection of tumor cells
Bioprospecting, isolation, characterization and application of purified compounds from the Brazilian flora are huge challenges that add value to biodiversity and contribute to the socioeconomic development of the country. Among the various compounds found in nature, lectins comprise a group of proteins of non-immune origin, widely distributed in nature, with high biotechnological potential due to their ability to decipher, in a specific and reversible way, cell glycoside. Some lectins are available commercially as supplies for isolation and detection of glycoconjugates, some of which are aberrantly expressed in diseases such as cancer. An important way to diagnose such diseases is to monitor changes in glycosylation patterns. Lectins have been used to detect and characterize tumor cell biomarkers using tools such as ELISA and lectin-array. However, such techniques exhibit disadvantages, such as low sensitivity and need for fluorescent labelling during the essay. Surface Chemistry is a new field of science that has brought numerous important applications to lectins. These molecules, when functionalized in different nanomaterials, offer the possibility of designing low-cost sensors for the desired applications and specifications (sensitivity and selectivity). With the advancement of materials science and nanotechnology, lectins were integrated into several biosensors projects, providing a diagnostic tool for diseases with low levels of biomarkers that could detect cancer at the initial tumor stage. Currently, the initial diagnosis of brain cancer (glioma) is extremely difficult and this is one of the reasons for treatment failure. The development of a biosensor to detect the early stages of tumor onset will greatly contribute to the survival of many patients. However, the low number of lectins available in the market is a limiting factor for the development of sensors for the various existing diseases. In this sense, this project aims to bio prospect new lectins from Brazilian flora, to characterize them chemically and structurally, to evaluate the interaction of new lectins and others already discovered, with different types of glycans and nanomaterials, and to develop a biosensor capable of detecting glioma.
