How It Functions
Our device, the LuminaScope, functions to differentiate triple negative breast cancer by gauging the distortion of its chromatin. This is done through the use of the fluorescent dye NucBlue, also known as Hoechst 33342. NucBlue binds to DNA and emits blue fluorescence when excited by UV light. Due to triple negative breast cancer carrying higher levels of distorted chromatin, the dye will not be able to efficiently bind to the DNA.
Therefore, the blue fluorescence in cancerous samples will not be as prominent when compared to its noncancerous counterpart and allows us to differentiate triple negative breast cancer by quantifying the fluorescence emitted.