Abstract
We developed a label-free method for a determination of the number of biomolecules attached to individual cells by measuring the electrophoretic mobility of the cells in a microchannel. The surface of a biological cell, which is dispersed in aqueous solution, is normally electrically charged and the charge quantity at the cell's surface is slightly changed once antibody molecules are attached to the cell, based on which we detect the attachment of antibody molecules to the surface of individual red blood cells by electrophoretic mobility measurement. We also analyzed the number of antibody molecules attached to the cell's surface using a flow cytometer. We found that there is a clear correlation between the number of antibody molecules attached to the individual cells and the electophoretic mobility of the cells. The present technique may well be utilized not only in the field of cell biology but also in the medical and pharmaceutical industries.
Highlights
Numerous types of proteins such as ion channels, receptors and antigens are embedded in the membranes of biological cells and some regions of those proteins appear outside the cells’ surfaces
Nagrath et al demonstrated a capture of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), which would be causing metastasis of cancer to the other parts of a body, onto the surfaces of micropillars modified with the antibody molecules against the CTCs in a microchip, using a cancer patient’s whole blood [8]
In order to detect the antigen-antibody reactions at the surfaces of biological cells, the antibody molecules modified with fluorescent dyes are often attached to the cells and the fluorescence intensity of the dyes is measured using a fluorescent microscope, spectrometer or flow cytometer, through which a number of new findings and ideas have been derived in the field of life science [13], [14], [15]
Summary
Numerous types of proteins such as ion channels, receptors and antigens are embedded in the membranes of biological cells and some regions of those proteins appear outside the cells’ surfaces. In order to detect the antigen-antibody reactions at the surfaces of biological cells, the antibody molecules modified with fluorescent dyes are often attached to the cells and the fluorescence intensity of the dyes is measured using a fluorescent microscope, spectrometer or flow cytometer, through which a number of new findings and ideas have been derived in the field of life science [13], [14], [15].
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