Lusk Joel F, Miranda Christopher, Smith Barbara S
School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University.
School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University;
J Vis Exp. 2020 Jan 17(155). doi: 10.3791/60279.
Many studies suggest that the enumeration of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) may show promise as a prognostic tool for ovarian cancer. Current strategies for the detection of CTCs include flow cytometry, microfluidic devices, and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Despite recent advances, methods for the detection of early ovarian cancer metastasis still lack the sensitivity and specificity required for clinical translation. Here, a novel method is presented for the detection of ovarian circulating tumor cells by photoacoustic flow cytometry (PAFC) utilizing a custom three dimensional (3D) printed system, including a flow chamber and syringe pump. This method utilizes folic acid-capped copper sulfide nanoparticles (FA-CuS NPs) to target SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells by PAFC. This work demonstrates the affinity of these contrast agents for ovarian cancer cells. The results show NP characterization, PAFC detection, and NP uptake by fluorescence microscopy, thus demonstrating the potential of this novel system to detect ovarian CTCs at physiologically relevant concentrations.
许多研究表明，循环肿瘤细胞（CTC）计数有望成为卵巢癌的一种预后工具。目前检测CTC的策略包括流式细胞术、微流控设备和实时聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）。尽管最近取得了进展，但检测早期卵巢癌转移的方法仍缺乏临床转化所需的灵敏度和特异性。在此，提出了一种利用定制的三维（3D）打印系统（包括流动室和注射泵）通过光声流式细胞术（PAFC）检测卵巢循环肿瘤细胞的新方法。该方法利用叶酸包覆的硫化铜纳米颗粒（FA-CuS NPs）通过PAFC靶向SKOV-3卵巢癌细胞。这项工作证明了这些造影剂对卵巢癌细胞的亲和力。结果显示了纳米颗粒表征、PAFC检测以及通过荧光显微镜观察到的纳米颗粒摄取情况，从而证明了这种新型系统在生理相关浓度下检测卵巢CTC的潜力。
