The interdisciplinary research team aims to develop unique preclinical and clinical tests that will enable precise diagnosis of cancer treatment on intravascular epithelium. The scientists also want to develop a new technology of electrochemical aptasensors, which use original methodological methods, polymer nanobrushes and a system of automated analysis of samples from patients with the use of flow microsystems.

The project entitled ”Personalised diagnosis of intravascular epithelium in cancer treatment; towards modern vascular oncology” will be implemented by a consortium comprising researchers from a few leading Polish science centres.

- Last year, the WUT CEZAMAT Department of Medical Diagnostics was contacted by Professor Stefan Chłopicki from the Jagiellonian Centre for Experimental Therapeutics (JCET) at the Jagiellonian University. He presented the premises of the project and invited us to join the Consortium, which after finalizing all details, successfully applied for funding for research teams doing work within the Virtual Research Institute, under Competition no. 3/2023. It was a joint application of a few institutions: Jagiellonian University as the leader and five Polish scientific units: Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Wrocław, Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Olsztyn, Gdańsk Medical University, Marie Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology in Gliwice and the Warsaw University of Technology – Professor Pietrzak sums up the beginnings of the cooperation.

What exactly are WUT scientists working on? 

The role of the WUT team is to develop unique, disposable and relatively simple and cheap flow microsystems (with the reader) in which it will be possible to automatically analyse samples in terms of the presence of characteristic markers of intravascular epithelium malfunctions caused by cancer treatment. The work will cover both architecture development, as well as materials selection and manufacturing technology of such microsystems.

- A completely new technology for detecting intravascular epithelium malfunctions will be a unique diagnosis tool for the epithelium in oncological treatment and should become an important element of individualised stratification of cardiovascular complications risk for patients undergoing cancer treatment. Therefore, it will be useful both for doctors who will be able to adapt therapies better to individual patients, and for oncological patients for whom it will be possible to limit cardiovascular complications – explains Professor Pietrzak.

The project will be implemented primarily by the team of the WUT CEZAMAT Department of Medical Diagnostics led by Professor Mariusz Pietrzak, who will be supported by the staff of the WUT CEZAMAT Department of Printed Electronics, Textronics and Assembly and the Chair of Medical Biotechnology of the WUT Faculty of Chemistry.

- The project is planned to start at the beginning of 2025. Decisions on technical and other matters are taken and will be taken at meetings of all consortium members – both in person and online. Obviously, not every meeting must be attended by all consortium members so there will also be meetings for two or three of them – adds Professor Pietrzak.