While current cancer-diagnosis methods rely on an invasive biopsy or the detection of cancer-specific biomarkers, South Korean scientists have developed a simple and non-invasive detector for cancer cells that could speed up the early diagnosis of the condition, leading to a greater chance of survival for cancer patients.
Daunomycin interacting cancer cells viewed with fluorescene microscopy
Cancer cells have been found to differ from normal cells in several ways, including the make up of their cell membranes. Cancer-cell membranes have been found to contain more anionic lipids than normal cells, leading to an overall negatively charged cell surface. Yoon-Bo Shim and co-workers from Pusan National University, have exploited this negative surface charge to develop a probe based on daunomycin, an anti-cancer drug that is known to interact strongly with anionic lipids.
Read the full article in Chemistry World.
Read the original journal article:
Cancer cell detection based on the interaction between an anticancer drug and cell membrane components
Chem. Commun., 2013, 49, 1900-1902
DOI: 10.1039/C2CC38235K
