Sensors Act as a Chemical Nose to 'Sniff' for Abnormal Cells

[Hopeful]

As Reported by HealthDay News. 2009 Jun 26

Cancer cells and normal cells have differences in their cell surfaces that can now be picked up by highly sensitive sensors. Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst developed an array of sensors that can even distinguish between metastatic and nonmetastatic cells. The researchers dubbed the technique the “chemical nose” approach. The technique uses para-phenyleneethynylene (PPE), which is a polymer, and 3 gold nanoparticles. The gold nanoparticles have a tendency to bind with the surface of chemically abnormal cells. When they do, the PPE breaks off and glows. This produces a fairly prominent signal that cancerous cells are present, according to the researchers, who point out that indications of cancer are usually more subtle. Cancer cells generate a distinctive glowing pattern using the sensor technique because they have a slightly different proportion of biomarkers on their surfaces than do healthy cells. The research results were published in the June 28 online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Hopeful