A biosensor capable of identifying low quantities of breast cancer cells by electrical impedance spectroscopy

Abstract

Breast cancer (BC) is a malignant disease with a high prevalence worldwide. The main cause of death is not the primary tumor, but instead the spread of tumor cells to distant sites. The aim of the present study was to examine a new method for the detection of cancer cells in aqueous medium using bioimpedance spectroscopy assisted with magnetic nanoparticles (MNP’s) exposure to a constant magnetic field. The spectroscopic patterns were identified for three breast cancer cell lines. Each BC cell line represents a different pathologic stage: the early stage (MCF-7), invasive phase (MDA-MB-231) and metastasis (SK-BR-3). For this purpose, bioimpedance measurements were carried out at a certain frequency range with the aid of nanoprobes, consisting of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) coupled to a monoclonal antibody. The antibody was specific for the predominant cell surface protein for each cell line, which was identified by using RT-qPCR and flow cytometry. Accordingly, EpCAM corresponds to MCF-7, MUC-1 to MDA-MB-231, and HER-2 to SK-BR-3. Despite their low concentrations, BC cells could be detected by impedance spectroscopy. Hence, this methodology should permit the monitoring of circulating tumor cells (CTC) and therefore help to prevent recurrences and metastatic processes during BC treatment.

Quick, Single-Frequency Dielectric Characterization of Blood Samples of Pediatric Cancer Patients by a Cylindrical Capacitor: Pilot Study

“…The results of this work are consistent with the evidence presented in the literature in that the electrical properties of normal tissues differ from those of cancerous ones. As mentioned before, other macroscopic approaches have been reported for the detection of cancer in adult patients, with similar findings [29][30][31][32].…”

“…Studies with a similar idea have been done in recent years for adult patients with lung and breast cancer [29][30][31][32]. The idea presented in this work has several novelties and advantages over the previous ones: (1) it focuses on hematologic cancers (not reported before) in children; (2) it macroscopically measures whole blood (not blood components) at low frequencies (which enables the development of inexpensive systems); and (3) it offers a simple, self-made device (a cylindrical capacitor) to carry out the measurements.…”

Bioelectrical Analysis of Various Cancer Cell Types Immobilized in 3D Matrix and Cultured in 3D-Printed Well

“…For further research, this methodology could efficiently be expanded to additional cell lines, i.e., cancerous or normal ones. Similar studies have been conducted on skin [64], breast [65], esophagus [66], and cervical cancer cells [6].…”

Spectroscopy and Machine Learning Based Rapid Point-of-Care Assessment of Core Needle Cancer Biopsies

“…The classification algorithms included LR, SVM, and RF. 25,29 The probability of a given spectrum belonging to tumor tissue was obtained as output from each classifier. The spectra were designated as either tumor or normal based on an optimal decision threshold on the probability of tumor ( > ℎ ).…”

“…10 These include optical spectroscopy, 11 x-ray imaging, 12 confocal microscopy, [13][14][15] structured illumination microscopy, 16 Fourier transform infrared imaging, 17 fluorescence microscopy, [18][19][20][21] contrast-enhanced micrography, 22 as well as diffuse reflectance, electrical impedance, and Raman spectroscopy. [23][24][25][26] Use of these technologies in a clinical setting has been hampered by factors such as lengthy analytic times, tissue degradation, expense, on-site tissue staining, requirement for interpretive expertise, and challenges to workflow integration. Additionally, many of these technologies analyze tissues in vivo, which may be helpful for determining intraoperative surgical margins but is less informative for ex vivo tissue acquired from a needle biopsy.…”