NEW YORK (360Dx) – A multiplexed nanoplasmonic assay designed specifically to fit into clinical workflows is taking aim at high-throughput detection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), an aggressive and often inoperable form of pancreatic cancer.

Developed by researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, the assay employs a liquid biopsy approach, leveraging low blood volumes and the clinical potential of exosomes — tiny vesicles shed by all kinds of cells, including tumor cells.