Nanomaterial based aptasensing of prostate specific antigen (PSA): Recent progress and challenges in efficient diagnosis of prostate cancer using biomedicine

Abstract

Cancer is known to be one of the most major issues all around the world and is the most important cause of death. Prostate cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers among men, and the principal reason of death due to this cancer is the inappropriate detecting tools. Therefore, there is a great request for accurate diagnosis of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Bio-analysis based on biomarkers might help to overcome this problem. Aptamers can be employed as high-affinity tools for cancer detection. The utilization of aptamer-based strategy in cancer investigation has demonstrated new horizons in biotechnology. The use of nanotechnology in biosensing is a serious development in this field. Advanced nanomaterials enhance the signal amplification in the biosensors, which also reduce the time required for diagnosis and analysis, they are also affordable, with high accuracy. In the present review (with 108 references), we discussed excellent features of the aptasensors on the sensitive and accurate monitoring of PSA biomarkers. Moreover, various types of nanomaterial-based aptasensors were surveyed for PSA detection (electrochemical, optical, piezoelectric, photoelectrochemical, electrochemiluminescent, and so forth). Furthermore, we reported the role of advanced nanomaterials, for instance graphene oxide, carbine nanotube, quantum dots, silica, gold, silver, and magnetic nanoparticles on the improvement of aptasensors of PSA. Finally, we discussed the advantages and limitations of different strategies on the early stage diagnosis of cancer. This article has been updated until July 2020.

Keywords: Aptasensor; Biomedical assay; Biotechnology; Cancer; Cancer immunotherapy; Clinical pharmacology; Nanobiomedicine.