Giant Magnetoresistance Based Biosensors for Cancer Screening and Detection

Abstract

Early-stage screening of cancer is critical in preventing its development and therefore can improve the prognosis of the disease. One accurate and effective method of cancer screening is using high sensitivity biosensors to detect optically, chemically, or magnetically labeled cancer biomarkers. Among a wide range of biosensors, giant magnetoresistance (GMR) based devices offer high sensitivity, low background noise, robustness, and low cost. With state-of-the-art micro-and nanofabrication techniques, tens to hundreds of independently working GMR biosensors can be integrated into fingernail-sized chips for the simultaneous detection of multiple cancer biomarkers (i.e., multiplexed assay). Meanwhile, the miniaturization of GMR chips makes them able to be integrated into point-of-care (POC) devices. In this review, we first introduce three types of GMR biosensors in terms of their structures and physics, followed by a discussion on fabrication techniques for those sensors. In order to achieve target cancer biomarker detection, the GMR biosensor surface needs to be subjected to biological decoration. Thus, commonly used methods for surface functionalization are also reviewed. The robustness of GMR-based biosensors in cancer detection has been demonstrated by multiple research groups worldwide and we review some representative examples. At the end of this review, the challenges and future development prospects of GMR biosensor platforms are commented on. With all their benefits and opportunities, it can be foreseen that GMR biosensor platforms will transition from a promising candidate to a robust product for cancer screening in the near future.

Magnetic Micro and Nano Sensors for Continuous Health Monitoring

“…To detect the influenza A virus, Krishna et al used a GMR biosensor functionalized with 3-aminopropyltriethoxy silane (APTES) and glutaraldehyde to enable the capturing of streptadivin-labeled magnetic nanoparticles attached to target antigens, which was found to be even more sensitive than the standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) [110]. Mostufa et al described the use of multiplexed assays to detect cancer biomarkers using GMR-based biosensors [111], while Nesvet et al concentrated on the GMR analysis of circulating tumor DNA epidermal growth factor receptor mutations [112]. Other GMR-based assays have aimed at GMR-based measurements of the albumin level in human blood and urine [113] of C-reactive protein, a blood biomarker [114], or generally aimed at creating other multiplex assays for proteins, etc., [115] and other microfluidic devices for the detection of magnetically labeled biomaterials [116].…”

Highly sensitive surface acoustic wave magnetic field sensor based on the loss mechanism

“…Giant magnetoresistance are multilayer dielectric structures based on the giant magnetoresistive effect of ferromagnetic (FM) and nonmagnetic, which results in a significant change in the resistivity of the material in the presence of an external magnetic field. In recent years, the use of giant magneto resistance (GMR) biosensors for cancer detection has shown great promise in the biomedical field [2]. Furthermore, superconducting quantum interferometers are among the most sensitive detectors for magnetic flux and magnetic flux fields, with equivalent energy sensitivity close to the quantum limit [3], interferometers require low-temperature superconducting cooling, which complicates miniaturisation and portability.…”

A GMR enzymatic assay for quantifying nuclease and peptidase activity

“…The capture antibody is coupled to the GMR sensor and binds to the antigen. The bound antigen is then quantified using a biotinylated detection antibody as it recruits streptavidin-coated magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) close to the sensor surface ( Osterfeld et al, 2008 ; Gaster et al, 2013 ; Kim et al, 2013 ; Klein et al, 2019 ; Lin et al, 2019 ; Zhou et al, 2019 ; Antarnusa et al, 2022 ; Mostufa et al, 2023 ; Sveiven et al, 2023 ). The increase in magnetoresistance directly correlates with the concentration of antigen.…”