Enhanced Luminescent Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells by a 3D Printed Immunomagnetic Concentrator.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are an indicator of metastatic progression and relapse. Since non-CTC cells such as red blood cells outnumber CTCs in the blood, the separation and enrichment of CTCs is key to improving their detection sensitivity. The ATP luminescence assay can measure intracellular ATP to detect cells quickly but has not yet been used for CTC detection in the blood because extracellular ATP in the blood, derived from non-CTCs, interferes with the measurement. Herein, we report on the improvement of the ATP luminescence assay for the detection of CTCs by separating and concentrating CTCs in the blood using a 3D printed immunomagnetic concentrator (3DPIC). Because of its high-aspect-ratio structure and resistance to high flow rates, 3DPIC allows cancer cells in 10 mL to be concentrated 100 times within minutes. This enables the ATP luminescence assay to detect as low as 10 cells in blood, thereby being about 10 times more sensitive than when commercial kits are used for CTC concentration. This is the first time that the ATP luminescence assay was used for the detection of cancer cells in blood. These results demonstrate the feasibility of 3DPIC as a concentrator to improve the detection limit of the ATP luminescence assay for the detection of CTCs.

Enhanced Sensing Behavior of Three-Dimensional Microfluidic Paper-Based Analytical Devices (3D-µPADs) with Evaporation-Free Enclosed Channels for Point-of-Care Testing.

Despite the potential in fabrication of microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (µPADs) for point-of-care testing (POCT) kits, the development of simple, accurate, and rapid devices with higher sensitivity remains challenging. Here, we report a novel method for 3D-µPAD fabrication with enclosed channels using vat photopolymerization to avoid fluid evaporation. In detail, height of the enclosed channels was adjusted from 0.3 to 0.17 mm by varying the UV exposure time from 1 to 4 s for the top barrier, whereas the exposure time for the bottom and side barriers was fixed. As a result, sample flow in the enclosed channels of 3D-µPADs showed lesser wicking speed with very scant evaporation compared to that in the hemi channels in the 3D-µPADs. The stoppage of evaporation in the enclosed channels significantly improved the gray intensity and uniformity in the detection zone of the 3D-µPADs, resulting in as low as 0.3 mM glucose detection. Thus 3D-µPADs with enclosed channels showed enhanced sensitivity compared to the 3D-µPADs with hemi channels when dealing with a small volume sample. Our work provides a new insight into 3D-µPAD design with enclosed channels, which redefines the methodology in 3D printing.

Enhanced cell-wall damage mediated, antibacterial activity of core-shell ZnO@Ag heterojunction nanorods against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Hybrid ZnO@Ag core-shell nanorods have been synthesized by a synthetic strategy based on seed mediated growth. Formation of core-shell nanostructures was confirmed by UV- diffused reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS), X-ray diffraction studies, field emission scanning electron microscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. UV-DRS analysis of hybrid core-shell nanorods suggests the possibility of interfacial electron transfer between surface anchored Ag nanoclusters and ZnO nanorods. Successful decoration of Ag nanoclusters with an average diameter of ~7 ± 0.5 nm was observed forming the heterojunctions on the surface of the ZnO nanorods. An enhanced antibacterial property was observed for the ZnO@Ag core-shell nanorods against both Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa lbacteria. The synergetic antibacterial activity of ZnO@Ag nanorods was found to be more prominent against Gram-positive bacteria than Gram-negative bacteria. The plausible reason for this enhanced antibacterial activity of the core-shell nanorods can be attributed to the physical damage caused by the interaction of the material with outer cell wall layer due to the production of reactive oxygen species by interfacial electron transfer between ZnO nanorods and plasmonic Ag nanoclusters. Overall, the ZnO@Ag core-shell nanorods were found to be promising materials that could be developed further as an effective antibacterial agent against wide range of microorganisms to control spreading and persistence of bacterial infections.