Let\'s assume a single tumor cell has 1000 copies of PSA (prostate specific anti
ID: 57971 • Letter: L
Question
Let's assume a single tumor cell has 1000 copies of PSA (prostate specific antigen) inside of it. To detect PSA, we will isolate 700 cells and resuspend those cells in 100 microliters of buffer, and we lyse (burst) open all of the cells, and we'll put this all in Test tube A. Then we'll take the contents out of testube a, and then we will use our new fancy biosensor to try to detect the PSA. Our biosensor detection limit is 4 pg/ml. How many moles of PSA do we have in testuble A? What is the detection limit of our biosensor in terms of molarity. Is our sensor sensitive enough to detect the PSA from Testube A? Now let's assume we resuspened only 10 cells in 1 microliter of volume. What is the new molarity? Would our biosensor be sensitive enough to detect the PSA?Explanation / Answer
Based on the given data,
A)
1 cell = 1000 PSA
Isolated 700 cells, so 700×1000 = 7×105 PSA
Therefore, Test tube-A has7×105 PSA/100 µL
B)
The detection limit of biosensor is: 4 pg/ml.
Molarity = Number of moles of solute / volume of solution in liters
The molecular weight of PSA = 34, 000 Da = 5.64×10-20 grams
Therefore,
The detection limit of Biosensor is 7.09×10-4 Moles/L
c)
Yes, from the obtained molarity values our biosensor is enough to detect PSA in test tube.
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