title: Nanotextured polymer substrates show enhanced cancer cell isolation and cell culture.
abstract: Detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the early stages of cancer is a great challenge because of their exceedingly small concentration. There are only a few approaches sensitive enough to differentiate tumor cells from the plethora of other cells in a sample like blood. In order to detect CTCs, several antibodies and aptamers have already shown high affinity. Nanotexture can be used to mimic basement membrane to further enhance this affinity. This article reports an approach to fabricate nanotextured polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates using micro reactive ion etching (micro-RIE). Three recipes were used to prepare nanotextured PDMS using oxygen and carbon tetrafluoride. Micro-RIE provided better control on surface properties. Nanotexturing improved the affinity of PDMS surfaces to capture cancer cells using surface immobilized aptamers against cell membrane overexpressed with epidermal growth factor receptors. In all cases, nanotexture of PDMS increased the effective surface area by creating nanoscale roughness on the surface. Nanotexture also enhanced the growth rate of cultured cells compared to plain surfaces. A comparison among the three nanotextured surfaces demonstrated an almost linear relationship between the surface roughness and density of captured tumor cells. The nanotextured PDMS mimicked biophysical environments for cells to grow faster. This can have many implications in microfluidic platforms used for cell handling.
authors.affiliation: Nano-Bio Lab, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA. Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76011, USA. Nanotechnology Research Center, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA.
authors.forename: Muhymin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.forename: Adeel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sajid
authors.forename: M Arif Iftakher
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mahmood
authors.forename: Mohammad Motasim
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Bellah
authors.forename: Peter B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Young-Tae
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Samir M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Iqbal
mesh_terms: D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide / Q000378:metabolism; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000166:cytology; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes / Q000737:chemistry; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; C013830:baysilon