Abstract
Raman active nano-complex agents based on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are prepared and used for the swift and specific detection of breast cancer cells. SWCNTs are functionalized to bond covalently with the anti-epithelial cell adhesion molecule (anti-EpCAM) antibody, which is specific to the highly expressed EpCAM antigen on the surface of breast cancer cells (MCF-7), but not on normal cells. The Raman nano-complexes demonstrate excellent ability to detect in vitro single breast cancer cells (MCF-7) and discriminate between them and normal fibroblast cells during the first 30 min of the targeting process. Raman linearity scanning is collected from a monolayer cell mixture, including both cancer cells and normal cells incubated with anti-EpCAM-SWCNTs, using a 633-nm laser excitation. The results shows that the Raman signal collected from targeted MCF-7 cells is extremely high, whereas there is little signal from the normal cells.
Highlights
Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancers in the United States, with the projected number of new cases for 2012 estimated at 226,870 in women and 2190 in men; the projected number of deaths among these patients is estimated at 39,920.1 Based on the wide occurrence of this disease, it is imperative that a quick and reliable method for the early detection and diagnosis of cancer circulating cells be identified and tested
These results clearly show that anti-epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) antibody can target cancer cells after being covalently bonded with f-single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT), indicating that the active binding site is still available for the receptors located on the surface of cancer cells
SWCNTs were covalently linked to a cancer celltargeting molecule, anti-EpCAM, and used successfully in vitro as a Raman nano-agent for the detection and discrimination of single cancer cells from normal cells within 30 min of incubation
Summary
Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancers in the United States, with the projected number of new cases for 2012 estimated at 226,870 in women and 2190 in men; the projected number of deaths among these patients is estimated at 39,920.1 Based on the wide occurrence of this disease, it is imperative that a quick and reliable method for the early detection and diagnosis of cancer circulating cells be identified and tested. The most commonly used breast cancer detection method is the collection of mammography images. These images can suffer from relatively low sensitivity in discriminating between benign and malignant tumors. As a result, they function best as a screening tool, rather than a detection and diagnostic tool.[2] breast biopsies generally require surgical intervention. The entire biopsy process hinges on choosing the proper sample for diagnosis, and it may have to be repeated several times to confirm the final results
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