New tools and methods for pattern recognition of neuron specific enolase (NSE) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were proposed for the screening of whole blood samples. The new tools were based on stochastic sensors designed using nanoporous gold microspheres, graphite, graphene, diamond paste as well as α-CDs, and 5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-21H,23H-porphyrin. The best sensor for the assay of CEA was the one based on P/graphite (the limit of determination was 16 fg/ml and sensitivity was 2.32 × 10(7)  s mg(-1)  ml), while for the assay of NSE the, best sensor was the one based on P/graphene (the limit of determination was 7.45 pg/ml and sensitivity was 2.49 × 10(8)  s mg(-1)  ml). The sensor of choice for simultaneous detection of NSE and CEA is the one based on P/graphene because we need high sensitivity and low limit of determination for NSE. To our knowledge, this is the only one screening test for early detection of lung cancer, by identification of NSE and CEA in whole blood samples.

Two stochastic sensors based on graphene powder modified with platinum and titanium dioxide (TiO2Pt/rGO) and 2,6-bis((E)-2-(furan-2-yl)vinyl)-4-(4,6,8-trimethylazulen-1-yl)pyridine (S1) and 2,6-bis((E)-2-(thiophen-3-yl)vinyl)-4-(4,6,8-trimethylazulen-1-yl)pyridine (S2) were proposed for the assay of three biomarkers monitorized in colon cancer: P53, KRAS and CEA. The limits of determinations were low, and the sensitivity very high. Whole blood samples from confirmed colon cancer patients were used for the validation of the method.

Introduction: Pneumothorax is a condition that usually occurs in thin, young people, especially in smokers. It is an unusual complication of COVID-19 disease that can be associated with worse results. This disease can occur without pre-existing lung disease or without mechanical ventilation. Materials and Methods: We present a monocentric comparative retrospective study of diagnostic and treatment analysis of two groups of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 pneumothorax. All patients included in this study underwent surgery in a thoracic surgery department. The study was conducted over a period of 18 months. It included 34 patients with COVID-19 pneumothorax and 42 patients with non-COVID-19 pneumothorax. Results: The clinical symptoms were more intense in patients with COVID-19 pneumothorax. We found that the patients with COVID-19 had significantly more respiratory comorbidities. Diagnostic procedures include chest CT exam for both groups. Laboratory findings showed that increasing values for the analyzed data were consistent with the deterioration of the general condition and the appearance of pneumothorax in the COVID-19 group. The therapeutic attitude regarding the non-COVID-19 group was to eliminate the air from the pleural cavity and surgical approach to the lesion that determined the occurrence of pneumothorax. The group of patients with COVID-19 pneumothorax received systemic treatment, and only minimal pleurotomy was performed. The surgical approach did not alter patients’ survival. Conclusions: Careful monitoring of the patient’s clinic and laboratory tests evaluating the degradation of the lung parenchyma, correlated with the imaging examination (chest CT) is mandatory and reduces COVID-19 complications. Early imaging examination starts an effective diagnosis and treatment management. In severe COVID-19 pneumothorax cases, the pneumothorax did not influence the evolution of COVID-19 disease. When we found that the general condition worsened with the rapid progression of dyspnea and the deterioration of the general condition, and we found that it represented the progression or recurrence of pneumothorax.

Engineered nanoporous gold microspheres were designed and used as new materials for stochastic microsensors. Carcinoembryonic antigen was used as model analyte to prove the stochastic sensing capabilities of the new material. A new sensor based on gold particles was used for the assay of the carcinoembryonic antigen in biological fluids. Stochastic sensing was used to determine the antigen in the samples. The working concentration range of the stochastic microsensor (1.6 Â 10 À8 to 1.6 Â 10 À5 mg mL À1 ) as well as its sensitivity (3.0 Â 10 3 s mg mL À1 ) and limit of quantification (16 ng mL À1 ) made possible its reliable utilization for screening tests of whole blood samples for the carcinoembryonic antigen.

Bayley and Cremer 2001;Coulter 1953). By monitoring the ionic current modulations induced by the passage of analytes of interest through the nanopore at a fixed applied potential, the concentration of the analyte can be obtained by the frequency of occurrence (1/t on ) of the recorded blockage events, while the mean residence time (t off ) of the analyte allows to determine its identity (Zhao et al. 2008). In nanopore sensing, each analyte produces a characteristic signature (t off ), and this allows several analytes to be quantitated simultaneously van Staden and Moldoveanu 2014a, b).Maltodextrins are nanostructured materials with native channels due to their helix structure. Thus they were considered as materials for designing stochastic sensors proposed for the screening of three biomarkers: neuron specific enolase (NSE), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR/HER-1). Maltodextrins ( Fig. 1) are carbohydrates derived from maize starch and are a group of oligosaccharides (long chainpolysaccharides) composed of glucose, with dextrose equivalent (DE) less than 20. Dextrose equivalent is a measure of reducing power of starch-derived polysaccharides/oligosaccharides compared with d-glucose on a dry-weight basis: the higher the DE, the greater the extent of starch hydrolysis. They are obtained by acidic and/or enzymatic hydrolysis of corn starch, with subsequent drying to make free flowing powders. They usually contain glucose, depending on the degree and method of hydrolysis. Therefore, maltodextrins are also called glucose polymers (Al-Khatib et al. 2001;Preis et al. 2014;Wang and Wang 2000). Along the time, maltodextrins have been used as chiral selectors for separation of the enantiomers of chiral drugs by capillary electrophoresis (Watanabe et al. 1999;Fakhari et al. 2013;D'Hulst and Verbeke 1992), for the design of enantioselective, potentiometric membrane electrodes (EPMEs) Abstract Stochastic sensors based on maltodextrins with different dextrose equivalent were proposed for the assay of three lung cancer biomarkers: neuron specific enolase, carcinoembryonic antigen and epidermal growth factor receptor. The two sensors proposed can determine simultaneously NSE, CEA and HER-1 in whole blood samples (qualitative and quantitative), with recoveries higher than 97.00 %, and low RSD (%), lower than 0.1 %. This screening test may serve for fast and early detection of lung cancer.