title: Tracking the dynamics of circulating tumour cell phenotypes using nanoparticle-mediated magnetic ranking.
abstract: Profiling the heterogeneous phenotypes of rare circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in whole blood is critical to unravelling the complex and dynamic properties of these potential clinical markers. This task is challenging because these cells are present at parts per billion levels among normal blood cells. Here we report a new nanoparticle-enabled method for CTC characterization, called magnetic ranking cytometry, which profiles CTCs on the basis of their surface expression phenotype. We achieve this using a microfluidic chip that successfully processes whole blood samples. The approach classifies CTCs with single-cell resolution in accordance with their expression of phenotypic surface markers, which is read out using magnetic nanoparticles. We deploy this new technique to reveal the dynamic phenotypes of CTCs in unprocessed blood from mice as a function of tumour growth and aggressiveness. We also test magnetic ranking cytometry using blood samples collected from cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G4, Canada.
authors.forename: Mahla
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Poudineh
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3M2, Canada.
authors.forename: Peter M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Aldridge
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Science, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3M2, Canada.
authors.forename: Sharif
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3M2, Canada.
authors.forename: Brenda J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3M2, Canada.
authors.forename: Leyla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kermanshah
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Science, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3M2, Canada.
authors.forename: Vivian
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Science, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3M2, Canada.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Science, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3M2, Canada.
authors.forename: Reza M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Mohamadi
authors.affiliation: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5, Canada.
authors.forename: Robert K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.affiliation: Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada.
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.affiliation: Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada.
authors.forename: Srikala S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Sridhar
authors.affiliation: Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Finelli
authors.affiliation: Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada.
authors.forename: Neil E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Fleshner
authors.affiliation: Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9, Canada.
authors.forename: Anthony M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Joshua
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G4, Canada.
authors.forename: Edward H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Sargent
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3M2, Canada.|Department of Pharmaceutical Science, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3M2, Canada.|Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada.
authors.forename: Shana O
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3360-5359
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Kelley
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D056656:Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles