AI-Enhanced Visual-Spectral Synergy for Fast and Ultrasensitive Biodetection of Breast Cancer-Related miRNAs

In biomedical testing, artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced analysis has gradually been applied to the diagnosis of certain diseases. This research employs AI algorithms to refine the precision of integrative detection, encompassing both visual results and fluorescence spectra from lateral flow assays (LFAs), which signal the presence of cancer-linked miRNAs. Specifically, the color shift of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) is paired with the red fluorescence from nitrogen vacancy color centers (NV-centers) in fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) and is integrated into LFA strips. While GNPs amplify the fluorescence of FNDs, in turn, FNDs enhance the color intensity of GNPs. This reciprocal intensification of fluorescence and color can be synergistically augmented with AI algorithms, thereby improving the detection sensitivity for early diagnosis. Supported by the detection platform based on this strategy, the fastest detection results with a limit of detection (LOD) at the fM level and the R² value of ∼0.9916 for miRNA can be obtained within 5 min. Meanwhile, by labeling the capture probes for miRNA-21 and miRNA-96 (both of which are early indicators of breast cancer) on separate T-lines, simultaneous detection of them can be achieved. The miRNA detection methods employed in this study may potentially be applied in the future for the early detection of breast cancer.