{% extends "layout.html" %} {% block title %}Engineering Success{% endblock %} {% block page_content %}
In order to test our aptamer probes, we first resuspended our aptamer probes into their buffer solutions. As
an initial test, we resuspended the Mucin 1 S2.2 ssDNA aptasensor, and did not resuspend the CA15.3 Clone 2
and 4 dsDNA aptasensor.
We then performed our protocol to verify the FRET interactions between our aptamer probes and our Mucin 1
biomarker. Without the presence of the Mucin 1 biomarker, the aptamer probes should not fluoresce and we
should get fluorescence values close to that of pure buffer solutions when we put it under the 96 wellplate
reader. This is because the aptamer is still in its folded shape, and only opens up when it binds to the
Mucin 1 biomarker. This causes the FRET phenomenon where the excited Cy5 dyes transfer their energy to the
Black hole quenchers because they are close together. With the presence of the Mucin 1 biomarker, the
aptamer probes should fluoresce, and we should be able to get a fluorescence reading under the 96 wellplate
reader because the ends of the aptamer probes are too far for the FRET phenomenon to occur.
In regards to the future applications of our project, we believe that this mechanism should not be further investigated until more concrete evidence is found on the levels of Mucin 1 biomarker patients and its correlation to having breast cancer. We explored various previous literature conducted on breast cancer patients, as well as literature on the detection of breast cancer through the ELISA method detecting levels of Mucin 1 biomarker. As shown in the box and whisker chart below, literature showed that the error bars of the standard mean error overlapped between breast cancer patients and healthy patients.