Biointerference-free signal generation via a self-floating transporter for early diagnosis of bladder cancer at the point of care

Abstract

Abstract At-home bladder cancer (BC) diagnostic kits using urine samples enable effective screening and surveillance, thereby facilitating its early detection, reducing the risk of BC progression, and improving patient survival rates. However, the complexity and heterogeneity of urine samples from BC patients with frequent hematuria interfere with signal transduction, leading to inaccurate diagnosis. Here, we developed a diagnostic platform that utilizes a separate biphasic system and a self-floating signal messenger to address the challenge of using untreated urine samples for at-home BC diagnosis. In our system, buoyant messengers are transferred from the urine to the organic phase autonomously in response to the biomarkers of BC; subsequently, a signal is generated in the organic layer where there are no interferents. We demonstrated the practicability of our system using 105 double-blind patient urine samples, including hematuria, andobtained ~89% accuracy, showing subequal diagnostic accuracy at the early stage of BC. This platform enabling accurate diagnosis without complex sample treatments would provide a convenient tool for screening cancers at home.