Highly sensitive detection of HER2 extracellular domain in the serum of breast cancer patients by piezoelectric microcantilevers

Rapid and sensitive detection of serum tumor biomarkers are needed to monitor cancer patients for disease progression. Highly sensitive piezoelectric microcantilever sensors (PEMS) offer an attractive tool for biomarker detection; however, their utility in the complex environment encountered in serum has yet to be determined. As a proof of concept, we have functionalized PEMS with antibodies that specifically bind to HER2, a biomarker (antigen) that is commonly overexpressed in the blood of breast cancer patients. The function and sensitivity of these anti-HER2 PEMS biosensors was initially assessed using recombinant HER2 spiked into human serum. Their ability to detect native HER2 present in the serum of breast cancer patients was then determined. We have found that the anti-HER2 PEMS were able to accurately detect both recombinant and naturally occurring HER2 at clinically relevant levels (>2 ng/mL). This indicates that PEMS-based biosensors provide a potentially effective tool for biomarker detection.