2D Nanomaterial, Ti3C2 MXene-Based Sensor to Guide Lung Cancer Therapy and Management

Major advances in cancer control can be greatly aided by early diagnosis and effective treatment in its pre-invasive state. Lung cancer (small cell and non-small cell) is a leading cause of cancer-related death among both men and women around the world. A lot of research attention has been attracted to diagnosing and treating lung cancer. A common method of lung cancer treatment is based on COX-2 (Cyclooxygenase-2) inhibitors. This is because COX-2 is commonly over expressed in lung cancer and also the abundance of its enzymatic product Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Instead of using traditional COX-2 inhibitors to treat lung cancer, here, we report a new anti-cancer strategy recently developed for lung cancer treatment. It adopts more abundant omega-6 (ω-6)fatty acids such as dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (DGLA) in the daily diet and the commonly high levels of COX expressed in lung cancer to promote the formation of 8-hydroxyoctanoic acid (8-HOA) through a new delta-5-desaturase (D5Di) inhibitor. The D5Di will not only limit the metabolic product, PGE2 but also promote the COX-2 catalyzed DGLA peroxidation to form 8-HOA, a novel anti-cancer free radical byproduct. Therefore, the measurement of the PGE2 and 8-HOA levels in cancer cells can be an effective method to treat lung cancer by providing in-time guidance. A novel sensor based on a newly developed functionalized nanomaterial, 2-dimensional nanosheets, Ti3C2 MXene, has proved to sensitively, selectively, precisely and effectively detect PGE2 and 8-HOA in A549 lung cancer cells. Due to the multilayered structure and extremely large surface area, metallic conductivity and easy and versatile in surface modification, Ti3C2 MXene-based sensor will be able to selectively adsorb different molecules through physical adsorption or electrostatic attraction, and lead to a measurable change in the conductivity of the material with high signal-to-noise ratio and excellent sensitivity.