A tiny vesicle in the blood could open up new possibilities in breast cancer diagnosis. But detecting them with precision is a challenge. At Leibniz IPHT, Jyothi B. Nair is developing a microfluidic platform that uses light to identify specific biomarkers for a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer.   

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is particularly aggressive and difficult to treat. Unlike other types of breast cancer, it lacks specific molecular targets for drugs. This makes early and accurate diagnosis all the more important. One promising lead lies in tiny vesicles in body fluids called exosomes. These could provide crucial insights into the disease – if they can be reliably isolated and analyzed.  

Tiny Messengers as Keys to Diagnosis 

“Exosomes are like tiny messengers that cells use to communicate with each other,” explains Jyothi B. Nair. “Their membranes and contents carry specific biomarkers that contain information about diseases. This is where her research project, ExoDiagAI, comes in. Funded by the EU’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, the project aims to develop a technology to efficiently isolate exosomes from blood samples and analyze their molecular signature using Raman spectroscopy. 

From Kerala to Jena   

Jyothi B. Nair grew up in the southern Indian state of Kerala. After completing her Ph.D.in developing targeted drug delivery carrier, she conducted research in India on monitoring   the targeted drug delivery events and cancer diagnosis via surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), a technique that uses light scattering to make chemical structures visible. She later worked as a scientist and consultant for two start-ups.    

Why did she choose Leibniz-IPHT? “I was fascinated by the work of Prof. Jürgen Popp and his team, who are developing Raman-based technologies for medical applications,” she says. “The combination of cutting-edge research and interdisciplinary collaboration in Jena inspired me to start my own EU-funded project on cancer diagnostics here. I hope it will lead to more collaborative work between Leibniz IPHT and India.”  

Detecting Cancer Earlier, Treating it More Precisely  

Her project is still in development, but its potential is huge: “If we can analyze exosomes with precision,” says Jyothi B. Nair, “we could pave the way for a less invasive, personalized approach to breast cancer diagnostics in the future.”