Cancer cells have been of much interest to the researchers. Various studies have been conducted on them. The latest research used nanotechnology to determine which cancerous cell is softer. A research team from the UCLA conducted this research. The team was made up of multidisciplinary scholars.
Nano science has helped the UCLA team detect the cancerous cells. Most importantly, the metastatic cells were detected during this research. Live cancer cells from patients were used for the purpose. Metastatic cells are the ones which actually travel through the body and infect body parts. These cancer cells are presumed to be softer because they enter the bloodstream and travel through tight corners.
For the purpose of this study, the UCLA researchers gathered cells from chest cavities of patients, with pancreatic or breast cancers. This process is very ‘non-invasive’ in nature. Once enough cells were gathered, the researchers then used a high powered microscope to study them. The Atomic Force Microscope of the AFM helped them quite a bit for this part of the research.
The AFM is probably one of the most valuable tools in the nanotechnology arsenal. This particular microscope let the research team analyze cells that were half the diameter of the human hair. Wow! I am surprised that cells that small can actually be processed and analyzed. Once the cell is investigated, the AFM assigns a value to that cell keeping the softness factor in mind.The study was a collaboration between the California Nanosystems Institute, Jonsson Cancer Center as well as the Dept. of Chemistry of the UCLA.
Image: Jyi
