Electrochemical detection of miR-34a-5p as a promising tool for HNC and PCa diagnosis

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs that are intensively studied as biomarkers of various diseases. In this study, the attention was aimed at the research of miR-34a-5p related to head and neck cancer (HNC) and prostate cancer (PCa). MiR-34a-5p belongs to the miR-34 family and its directly linked to p53 and Wnt pathways. beside the classical molecular biology techniques of miRNA study (PCR, Northern Blotting, microarrays technologies), new biophysical approaches were applied. The results from the PCR analysis were complemented with UV absorption spectra, CD spectra and linear sweep voltammetry in connection with adsorptive stripping (AdTS) technique indicating significant differences in miR-34a-5p expression status.