New Sensor Molecules May Have Potential to Detect Cancer Cells Early, Research Shows

Pyrophosphates - the anion, salts, and esters of pyrophosphoric acid - play a crucial role in energy transduction, DNA replication, and other metabolic processes that are dysregulated in cancer cells. A new detection system could spot these processes early.

Researchers at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland discovered a new water-soluble detection system that is sensitive to pyrophosphate, which could detect processes in the development of cancer cells earlier than current methods. Their study, "Nanomolar Pyrophosphate Detection in Water and in a Self-Assembled Hydrogel of a Simple Terpyridine-Zn²⁺ Complex," was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

The higher the sensitivity to pyrophosphate is crucial for detection methods because it can help expedite finding developing cancers.

The researchers, led by Academy Professor Kari Rissanen, developed a metal complex that reveals an orange fluorescent color when a low concentration of pyrophosphate is found in water. Previous pyrophosphate sensor molecules were not as effective because they maintained poor water solubility and low sensitivity in water.

The detection system was used to image pyrophosphate in the nuclei of living HeLa cells, which are the oldest and most commonly used human cell line after they were derived from cervical cancer cells in 1951 from a patient named Henrietta Lacks. They are often used in cancel cells models as well.

"The sensor complex showed an unprecedented fluorescence response and a record nanomolar sensitivity," according to the study. "It has successfully been used to stain and record confocal fluorescence microscopy images of HeLa cells."

The detection system is also cost-effective, as the live cell pyrophosphate imaging can be formulated into a hydrogel and coated onto paper strips. These highly sensitive sensors can help improve cancer diagnostics in both a more effective and economic manner.