Redox Initiated Radical Chain Polymerizations for the Signal Amplification of Bio-Recognition Events

     The dismal forecast given with the clinical diagnosis of lung cancer, namely a 15% 5-year survival rate, attests the urgency for new approaches in combating this disease.  At this tactical forefront stands the field of molecular diagnostics with the potential to expose subcellular alterations before the onset of debilitating malignancies. These diagnostic alterations, including genetic mutations and epigenetic variations in 5-methylcytosine distributions, require sensitive detection methods able to identify these biomarkers in human serum at nanogram quantities. A novel method, lending vast possibilities in the detection of molecules at low quantities, involves radical chain polymerization. This technique may generate high molecular weight polymers immediately following polymerization initiation. The ability to couple this polymer growth with a DNA hybridization event distinctive of a genetic or epigenetic alteration would provide clinicians a rapid, inexpensive and sensitive diagnostic assay for the advanced diagnosis of lung cancer.