Immunomicroparticles coupled with luminescent quantum dots resolve circulating tumor cells among blood cells on a fluorescence microspectrometer. Such tumor cells have been studied for decades due to their significance in the early stage detection of cancer metastasis. Also, these cells are clinically relevant samples for postsurgical and post-therapeutic follow-up of many cancers. Here, cancer-specific antibodies pull cancer cells from the blood to the surface of silica particles. Quantum dots and dye labels offer nine-fold accuracy for the detection by resolving the fluorescence color, spectra, and decays, each into three modes.
- Jeladhara Sobhanan
- Yuta Takano
- Vasudevanpillai Biju
