title: NanoFlares for the detection, isolation, and culture of live tumor cells from human blood.
abstract: Metastasis portends a poor prognosis for cancer patients. Primary tumor cells disseminate through the bloodstream before the appearance of detectable metastatic lesions. The analysis of cancer cells in blood—so-called circulating tumor cells (CTCs)—may provide unprecedented opportunities for metastatic risk assessment and investigation. NanoFlares are nanoconstructs that enable live-cell detection of intracellular mRNA. NanoFlares, when coupled with flow cytometry, can be used to fluorescently detect genetic markers of CTCs in the context of whole blood. They allow one to detect as few as 100 live cancer cells per mL of blood and subsequently culture those cells. This technique can also be used to detect CTCs in a murine model of metastatic breast cancer. As such, NanoFlares provide, to our knowledge, the first genetic-based approach for detecting, isolating, and characterizing live cancer cells from blood and may provide new opportunities for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and personalized therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, International Institute for Nanotechnology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208-3113;
authors.forename: Tiffany L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Halo
authors.affiliation: Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611; Simpson Querrey Institute for BioNanotechnology in Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611; Walter S. and Lucienne Driskill Graduate Training Program in Life Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611;
authors.forename: Kaylin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: McMahon
authors.affiliation: Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611; Simpson Querrey Institute for BioNanotechnology in Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611; Department of Urology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611;
authors.forename: Nicholas L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Angeloni
authors.affiliation: Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611; Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611.
authors.forename: Yilin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611; Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, International Institute for Nanotechnology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208-3113;
authors.forename: Alyssa B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Chinen
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, 53705; and.
authors.forename: Dmitry
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Malin
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, 53705; and.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Strekalova
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, 53705; and.
authors.forename: Vincent L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Cryns
authors.affiliation: Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611; Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611 cthaxton003@md.northwestern.edu chadnano@northwestern.edu chengc@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Chonghui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, International Institute for Nanotechnology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208-3113; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and cthaxton003@md.northwestern.edu chadnano@northwestern.edu chengc@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Chad A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Mirkin
authors.affiliation: International Institute for Nanotechnology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208-3113; Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611; Simpson Querrey Institute for BioNanotechnology in Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611; Department of Urology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611; cthaxton003@md.northwestern.edu chadnano@northwestern.edu chengc@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: C Shad
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Thaxton
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015820:Cadherins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002232:Carbocyanines / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D016373:DNA, Antisense / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005353:Fibronectins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous; D014746:Vimentin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000097573:Red Fluorescent Protein
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D015820:Cadherins; D002232:Carbocyanines; D016373:DNA, Antisense; D005353:Fibronectins; D006046:Gold; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014746:Vimentin; D000097573:Red Fluorescent Protein; C085321:cyanine dye 5
keywords: NanoFlares; cancer metastasis; diagnostic; mRNA; nanotechnology