Detecting subtle changes in cancer cells with nanofluidic biopsy
Source: www.azonano.com Author: staff By taking two standard laboratory techniques—capillary electrophoresis and antibody-based protein detection—and shrinking them to the nanoscale, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have created a new method for detecting miniscule changes in the levels of proteins associated with cancer. In a study published in the journal Nature Medicine, the investigators used their new device to analyze whether individual cancer-associated proteins were present in the tiny samples and even whether modifications of the proteins varied in response to cancer treatments. Although the study focuses on blood cancers, the hope is that the technique also might provide a faster, less invasive way to track solid tumors. “Currently, we don’t know what’s going on in a patient’s tumor cells when a treatment is given,” said Alice C. Fan, M.D., who along with Dean W. Felsher, M.D., headed the team that developed this nanofluidic proteomic immunoassay (NIA) system. “The standard way we measure whether a treatment is working is to wait several weeks to see if the tumor mass shrinks. It would be a leap forward if we could detect what is happening at a cellular level.” Dr. Felsher, who is a member of the Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence Focused on Therapy Response based at Stanford University, added, “This technology allows us to analyze cancer-associated proteins on a very small scale. “Not only can we detect picogram levels—one-trillionth of a gram—of protein, but we also can see very subtle changes in the ways the protein is modified.” [...]