USE OF AN OPTICAL BIOSENSOR TO MEASURE PROSTATE-SPECIFIC ANTIGEN IN WHOLE-BLOOD

Prostate cancer is the cause of death of many thousands of men world-w ide. The screening of men for elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels is set to play an important role in the diagnosis and manageme nt of the disease. At present the screening efficiency of PSA testing is restricted, as estimations are performed in centralized laboratorie s using serum samples. This paper describes the development of an assa y for the measurement of PSA in whole blood using the fluorescence cap illary fill device (FCFD), an optical biosensor technology. The FCFD P SA whole-blood test will meet the requirements of a 'point-of-care' di agnostic product suitable for use in prostate cancer screening program mes.