Advances in Colloid and Interface Science 2026

TMU Assistant Professor Lucas Lane’s Team Breaks Optical Detection Limits; International Graduate Students Co-Author Innovative SERS Nanotag Research for Early Cancer Diagnostics

A major biomedical engineering breakthrough has been achieved by the research team led by Assistant Professor Lucas A. Lane from the International Ph.D. Program in Biomedical Engineering, College of Biomedical Engineering at Taipei Medical University (TMU)! Their pioneering review on advancing early disease diagnosis has been officially published in the prestigious international journal Advances in Colloid and Interface Science (Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, Journal Impact Factor:19.3). This high-impact accomplishment highlights TMU's exceptional international research collaboration, made possible through the determination and hard work of Professor Lane's students: Maria Lucia Veronica Theja (Lucia), a soon-to-graduate master's student from Indonesia at the Graduate Institute of Nanomedicine and Medical Engineering ; and Maud Gacquer, a student in the Euro-Asian Master in Medical Technology and Healthcare Business (EMMaH) program affiliated with the Graduate Institute of Biomedical Optomechatronics. Both international students served as critical driving forces behind the formulation and writing of this study.

The study reveals that rationally engineering the protective surface coatings of Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) nanotags can significantly surpass current diagnostic boundaries, paving the way for ultrasensitive early detection of cancer biomarkers and viruses. Clinically, conventional optical techniques relying on fluorescent dyes suffer from rapid photobleaching, low multiplexing capabilities, and weak signals in the biologically transparent near-infrared (NIR) window.

Professor Lane's team is the first to comprehensively demonstrate that these underemphasized surface coatings are key determinants of probe stability, biological targeting specificity, and signal brightness. By precisely customizing advanced polymer linkers (such as AMP polymers) or biomimetic coatings (such as red blood cell membranes) , the engineered coatings form a superior barrier that prevents particle aggregation while pushing detection limits down to the unprecedented attomolar level. The successful implementation of this innovative architecture promises to translate into high-precision, multiplexed clinical diagnostics.

Research Team: (Left: Maria Lucia Veronica Theja, Master's student; Middle: Lucas A. Lane, Assistant Professor; Right: Maud Gacquer, Master's student)