functionalized mwcnt needle-based biosensor, a new medical device for intra-operative detection of breast cancer margins

It is well known that the main step in solid tumor treatment is surgical resection. so, intra-operative tracing of remaining tumor cell residues in surgical cavity margins is very important to prevent local recurrences. the frozen pathology method is the conventional method of tumor margin diagnosis in a time duration of about 1hr, but the low number of prepared slides and inappropriate fixation of the tissue in this limited time couldn’t give us a perfect diagnosis. real-time detection of involved margins is a new trend in the research of medical technologies. we showed for the first time that functionalized carbon nanotubes grown on the electrode needles can record the h2o2 released from cancer/atypical cells through reverse warburg effect and glycolysis pathways in real-time and quantitative electrochemical manner with pathological translation. this sensor named cdp was studied on cell lines, in-vivo mice models with breast tumors, and both in-vitro fresh and in-vivo cavity side samples of human models [papers and patents]. the presence of functionalized cnts not only enhances the interactive surfaces between electrode and tissue but also helps us selectively detect released ros agents through the glycolysis behavior of cancer cells. the system which is now an approved system in medical centers (imed…) helped the surgeons to 35% reduce the rate of involved breast margins during 4 years of trials in iranian medical centers.