Ultrasensitive detection of DNA and protein markers in cancer cells

• Published in: Cancer biology & medicine Vol. 12; no. 3; pp. 143 - 149
• Main Authors: Smolina, Irina V, Broude, Natalia E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: China Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA 01-09-2015; Chinese Anti-Cancer Association; China Anti-Cancer Association
• Subjects: cell-surface protein marker; DNA; Microfluidic droplets; peptide nucleic acids (PNA); Review; rolling circle amplification (RCA); 微流体装置; 微流控芯片; 标志物; 癌细胞; 肿瘤细胞; 蛋白质; 超灵敏检测; Microfluidic droplets; peptide nucleic acids (PNA); rolling circle amplification (RCA); cell-surface protein marker; rolling circle ampliifcation (RCA); Microlfuidic droplets
• ISSN: 2095-3941; 2095-3941
• DOI: 10.7497/j.issn.2095-3941.2015.0048

Cancer cells differ from normal cells in various parameters, and these differences are caused by genomic mutations and consequential altered gene expression. The genetic and functional heterogeneity of tumor cells is a major challenge in cancer research, detection, and effective treatment. As such, the use of diagnostic methods is important to reveal this heterogeneity at the single-cell level. Droplet microfluidic devices are effective tools that provide exceptional sensitivity for analyzing single cells and molecules. In this review, we highlight two novel methods that employ droplet microfluidics for ultra- sensitive detection of nucleic acids and protein markers in cancer cells. We also discuss the future practical applications of these methods.