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Edited by Laura L. Kiessling, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, and approved May 20, 2009 (received for review January 28, 2009)
Abstract
Rapid and effective differentiation between normal and cancer cells is an important challenge for the diagnosis and treatment of tumors. Here, we describe an array-based system for identification of normal and cancer cells based on a “chemical nose/tongue” approach that exploits subtle changes in the physicochemical nature of different cell surfaces. Their differential interactions with functionalized nanoparticles are transduced through displacement of a multivalent polymer fluorophore that is quenched when bound to the particle and fluorescent after release. Using this sensing strategy we can rapidly (minutes/seconds) and effectively distinguish (i) different cell types; (ii) normal, cancerous and metastatic human breast cells; and (iii) isogenic normal, cancerous and metastatic murine epithelial cell lines.
Footnotes
- 1To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: rotello{at}chem.umass.edu
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Author contributions: A.B., D.J.J., U.H.F.B., and V.M.R. designed research; A.B. and O.R.M. performed research; I.-B.K. and R.L.P. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; A.B., O.R.M., and V.R. analyzed data; and A.B., O.R.M., D.J.J., U.H.F.B., and V.M.R. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
Detection and differentiation of normal, cancerous, and metastatic cells using nanoparticle-polymer sensor arrays
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