A personal glucose meter (PGM)-based method for quantitative detection of a urinary nucleic acid biomarker in prostate cancer screening, the so-called PCA3, is reported herein. A sandwich-type genoassay is conducted on magnetic beads to collect the target from the sample by specific hybridization, making the assay appropriate for PCA3 detection in biological fluids. The success of the method hinges on the use of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) to link the amount of nucleic acid biomarker to the generation of glucose. In particular, specifically attached ALP molecules hydrolyze D-glucose-1-phosphate into D-glucose, thus enabling the amplification of the recorded signal on the personal glucose meter. The developed genoassay exhibits good sensitivity (3.3 ± 0.2 mg glucose dL−1 pM−1) for PCA3, with a dynamic range of 5 to 100 pM and a quantification limit of 5 pM. Likewise, it facilitates point-of-care testing of nucleic acid biomarkers by using off-the-shelf PGM instead of complex instrumentation involved in traditional laboratory-based tests.

A sandwich genoassay for the detection of PCA3, a nucleic acid biomarker overexpressed in the urine of prostate cancer patients, has been developed by using the enzyme alkaline phosphatase (ALP) as a tracer of the hybrid generated onto the surface of magnetic particles. ALP converts D-glucose-1-phosphate into D-glucose, which is quantified with a personal glucose meter. The resulting methodology allows the reliable detection of PCA3 at low picomolar levels, thus fostering massive screening of prostate cancer.