Carcinogenicity assessment using biosensors: Mitomycin-C as a case study

This study enabled an empirical assessment of a model carcinogen and its potency on human receptors. SOS-lux biosensors had numerous practical advantages over the traditional assays including procedural simplicity, ease of measurement and in vivo analysis without cell disruption. A key advantage of the application of biosensors is their ability to be deployed to genuine samples. This means that while chromatographic analysis requires extraction, purification, clean-up and then analysis, the biosensor can be used in crude and turbid solutions. This could be exclusively for a carcinogenic sensor or for a wider suite of sensors for specific analytes and generic toxicity. Samples could be exposed to a suite of sensors simultaneously allowing a real time response that could prove valuable for the protection of target receptors at a timescale commensurate with intervention. The data presented confirm that the sensors could be fabricated to permit compact analysis and the use of disposable electrodes. Such technologies could transform routine testing and interpretation.