Urinary MicroRNA-21 for Prostate Cancer Detection Using a Silver Nanoparticle Sensor - A Promising Diagnostic Tool

Q: What performance characteristics does the silver nanoparticle-based biosensor show?

The biosensor sensitivity reaches up to 100 fM and demonstrates a rather high selectivity rate, with results confirmed using qRT-PCR.

Sep 21, 2026

Upload by Theodora

This study measures miR-21 expression in 38 clinical urine samples collected from 10 prostate cancer (PCa) patients at three time points: before surgery, 1 month after surgery, and 3 months after surgery, plus 3 benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) patients and 5 healthy controls. A silver nanoparticle-based biosensor is used and its sensitivity is verified with qRT-PCR. The biosensor shows sensitivity up to 100 fM with high selectivity, including decreased miR-21 at 3 months post-surgery and significant differences versus controls. Results indicate the sensor supports auxiliary early PCa screening and progression tracking for improved healthcare decisions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Prostate cancer burden and the need for early screening

miR-21 as a biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis

Diagnostic challenges and limitations of PSA

Study goal: a novel screening biosensor

Article Urinary MicroRNA-21 for Prostate Cancer Detection Using a Silver Nanoparticle Sensor: A Promising Diagnostic Tool See-Tong Pang 1, Yueh-Er Chiou 2, Jasmine Lim 3, Yi-Chun Zhang 4, Wen-Zhen Zeng 4, Teng Aik Ong 3, * and Wen-Hui Weng 4, * Citation: Pang, S.-T.; Chiou, Y.-E.; Lim, J.; Zhang, Y.-C.; Zeng, W.-Z.; Ong, T.A.; Weng, W.-H. Urinary MicroRNA-21 for Prostate Cancer Detection Using a Silver Nanoparticle Sensor: A Promising Diagnostic Tool. Biosensors 2024, 14, 599. [https://](https://)[ ](https://)[doi.org/10.3390/bios14120599](doi.org/10.3390/bios14120599) Received: 29 October 2024 Revised: 30 November 2024 Accepted: 2 December 2024 Published: 7 December 2024 Copyright: © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([https://](https://)[ ](https://)[creativecommons.org/licenses/by/](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[ ](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[4.0/](4.0/)) . 1 Department of Urology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan City 33302, Taiwan; [jacobpang@adm.cgmh.org.tw](jacobpang@adm.cgmh.org.tw) 2 Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 242, Taiwan; [031051@mail.fju.edu.tw](031051@mail.fju.edu.tw) 3 Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia; [jasmine.lim@um.edu.my](jasmine.lim@um.edu.my) 4 Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Graduate Institute of Biochemical and Biomedical Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei City 10608, Taiwan; [louis311721@gmail.com](louis311721@gmail.com) (Y.-C.Z.); [t111738039@ntut.org.tw](t111738039@ntut.org.tw) (W.-Z.Z.) * Correspondence: [ongta@ummc.edu.my or](ongta@ummc.edu.my or) [taong@um.edu.my](taong@um.edu.my) (T.A.O.); [wendywwh@ntut.edu.tw](wendywwh@ntut.edu.tw) (W.-H.W.) Abstract: In this study, we detected the expression levels of miR-21 in 38 clinical urine samples, obtained from 10 patients with PCa (with each sample obtained at three time points: before surgery, 1 month after surgery, and 3 months after surgery), 3 patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), and 5 healthy subjects (as a control group) . All of the samples were examined using a silver nanoparticle-based biosensor, and the sensitivity of the biosensor was simultaneously confirmed via qRT-PCR. The results were further analyzed together with clinical data such as PSA values and cancer stages. The sensitivity of the biosensor ranged up to 100 fM, and it presented a rather high selectivity rate. Our results indicated a significantly decreased expression level of miR-21 in the patient cases at 3 months post-surgery when compared with pre-surgery levels (p-value < 0.001) . In addition, when distinguishing the differences in the expression level of miR-21 between healthy subjects and patients with PCa or BPH, both groups showed highly significant differences (p = 0.008 and p < 0.001, respectively) . The results strongly suggest that the proposed miR-21 biosensor can be used as an auxiliary screening tool for the early detection of PCa and may effectively facilitate tracking of the progression of PCa, thus enabling more accurate healthcare decision making. Keywords: biosensor; miR-21; prostate cancer 1. Introduction Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most prevalent cancers among men worldwide. Higher mortality rates are often seen in developed countries, and older age is a significant determinant of PCa. Therefore, early screening and diagnosis of PCa are crucial for patients to obtain appropriate medical options, which may significantly improve their prognosis and mortality. MicroRNA-21 (miRNA-21) has emerged as a promising biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of PCa due to its dysregulation in PCa cells. The epidemiology of prostate cancer (PCa) mortality reflects the complex inter

FAQs

What performance characteristics does the silver nanoparticle-based biosensor show?

The biosensor sensitivity reaches up to 100 fM and demonstrates a rather high selectivity rate, with results confirmed using qRT-PCR.

Sep 21, 2026

Upload by Theodora