New Catalyst Promises More Accurate PSA Tests

Say you’ve been diagnosed with prostate cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer death in men. You opt for surgery to remove your prostate. Three months later, a prostate surface antigen (PSA) test shows no prostate cells in your body. Everyone rejoices.

Until 18 months later, when another PSA test reveals that now prostate cells have reappeared. What happened?

The first PSA test yielded what’s known as a false negative result. It did not detect the handful of cells that remained after surgery and later multiplied. Now a chemist at Michigan Technological University has made a discovery that could, among other things, slash the numbers of false negatives in PSA tests.

Xiaohu Xia and his team, including researchers from Louisiana State University and the University of Texas at Dallas, have developed a new catalyst that could make lab tests like the PSA much more sensitive. And it may even speed up reactions that neutralize toxic industrial chemicals before they enter lakes and streams.

Their new catalyst mimics the action of similar biochemicals found in nature, called peroxidases.

A paper on the research, “Pd–Ir Core–Shell Nanocubes: A Type of Highly Efficient and Versatile Peroxidase Mimic,” (http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsnano.5b03525?journalCode=ancac3) was published online Sept. 3 in ACS Nano.