title: Cell characterization using a protein-functionalized pore.
abstract: We demonstrate a highly-sensitive and label-free method for characterizing cells based on cell-surface receptors. The method involves measuring a current pulse generated when an individual cell passes through an artificial pore. When the pore is functionalized with proteins, specific interactions between a cell-surface marker and the functionalized proteins retard the cell, thus leading to an increased pulse duration that indicates the presence of that specific biomarker. For proof-of-principle, we successfully screened murine erythroleukemia cells based on their CD34 surface marker in both a single and mixed population of cells. Further, we developed a unified constrained statistical model for estimating the ratios of cells in a mixed population. Finally, we demonstrated our ability to screen a small number of cells (hundreds or less) with high accuracy and sensitivity. Overall, our pore-based method is broadly applicable and, in the future, could provide a full range of in vitro cell-based assays.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-1740, USA.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carbonaro
authors.forename: Swomitra K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Mohanty
authors.forename: Haiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Lucy A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Godley
authors.forename: Lydia L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Sohn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004915:Leukemia, Erythroblastic, Acute / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D015394:Molecular Structure; D016062:Porosity; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000032:analysis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface