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Differential behavior of EGFR-overexpressing cancer cells through aptamer-functionalized micropores

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Abstract

Circulating tumor cell detection is one important avenue for early cancer diagnosis. A differential solid-state micropore approach is reported that detects a very low number of tumor cells from blood samples. One micropore is functionalized with an aptamer molecule specific to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), known to be overexpressed on cancer cell surfaces, whereas the other micropore is bare. The translocation behavior of tumor cells is seen to be distinctly different from normal counterparts and control when passed through functionalized micropore. The differentiation stems from the selective interactions between the aptamer molecules and overexpressed EGFR on the tumor cells. Normal cells, on the other hand, do not show selective interaction with aptamers. As a result, cancer cells are distinguished from normal cells just by looking at the translocation data from an aptamer-functionalized micropore. The interactions between the cells and the aptamer in a micropore provide a detection modality that interrogates each cell.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Azhar Ilyas and Muhymin Islam for help with the manuscript preparation and for useful discussions. The aptamers were provided by Dr. Andrew D. Ellington from the University of Texas at Austin, and tumor samples were provided by Dr. Robert Bachoo from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. This work was supported with National Science Foundation CAREER grant ECCS-1201878 and an award to SMI by the Cancer Research Foundation of North Texas, Arlington, Texas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nano-Bio Lab, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, 76019, USA

    Samir M. Iqbal

  2. Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, 76011, USA

    Md. Motasim Bellah & Samir M. Iqbal

  3. Nanotechnology Research Center, Shimadzu Institute for Research Technologies, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, 76019, USA

    Md. Motasim Bellah, Samir M. Iqbal & Young-Tae Kim

  4. Department of Bioengineering, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, 76010, USA

    Samir M. Iqbal & Young-Tae Kim

  5. Joint Graduate Studies Committee of Bioengineering Program, University of Texas at Arlington and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Arlington, TX, USA

    Samir M. Iqbal

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  1. Md. Motasim Bellah
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  2. Samir M. Iqbal
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Correspondence to Samir M. Iqbal.

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Bellah, M.M., Iqbal, S.M. & Kim, YT. Differential behavior of EGFR-overexpressing cancer cells through aptamer-functionalized micropores. Microfluid Nanofluid 17, 983–992 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-014-1402-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-014-1402-2

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