Microchambers in the CL are designed to capture exosomes, a known biomarker for different diseases

US scientists have developed a contact lens (CL) which may help with the early detection of cancer by examining tears. 

Microchambers in the CL, developed at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI) in California, capture exosomes – vesicles containing cellular messengers secreted into blood, saliva, urine and tears. An antibody in the microchambers binds exosomes, which are then visualised with a colourimetric assay. 

"Exosomes are a rich source of markers which can be targeted for several biomedical applications. This offers a potential platform for cancer pre-screening and a rapid, sensitive, cost-effective and non-invasive diagnostic tool," said Professor Ali Khademhosseini, TIBI's director and CEO. Experiments on different tissue and cancer cell lines validated the lens’ ability to detect exosomes with different surface markers. “With these promising results, the detection of exosomes specific to cancers, viruses and other diseases is underway in our labs,” wrote researchers. 

The study was published by Advanced Functional Materials.