Nanoplastic catches cancer cells

A novel method for catching cancer cells circulating in the blood has the potential to provide doctors with valuable information on cancer patients’ prognosis and response to treatment.

Associate Professor Benjamin Thierry and Dr Yuan Wan, researchers from the Ian Wark Institute at the University of South Australia, have developed a polystyrene nanoplastic that cells readily adhere to.

Rapid, affordable and unbiased methods to isolate rare tumour cells from patient’s blood are needed to progress the clinical implementation of what is often referred to as liquid biopsy.

The researchers engraved nano-sized dents onto the surface of the plastic polystyrene to create an attractive surface for cells to stick to.

Over 95% of tumour cells present in blood samples adhered to the rough nanoplastic surfaces and could be easily identified among blood cells using automated microscopy.

This simple and effective method could be a powerful tool for cancer research in the future.

Associate Professor Thierry presented this research at the 23rd Australian Conference on Microscopy and Microanalysis (ACMM23) and the International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICONN 2014), held in Adelaide from 2-6 February 2014.