This NSF award by the Biosensing /CBET program supports work by Professor Liju Yang at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) to study the electrical properties of cancer cells in comparison with normal epithelial cells. A microfluidic chip with featured microelectrodes will be designed and developed to carry out this study. The microchip will use dielectrophresis to capture cells onto the microelectrodes. The captured cells will subsequently be studied in a wide frequency range using electrical impedance spectroscopy, and their electrical properties will be analyzed using proper equivalent circuit models. This research will provide a direct (without biomarkers) approach to distinguish cancer cells from normal cells. It has potential applications in early diagnosis of cancer and monitoring of cancer metastasis and the progress of cancer treatment. Education will include the incorporation of research into course development and the training of minority undergraduate students at NCCU in interdisciplinary research.
This NSF award by the Biosensing /CBET program supported the work by Professor Liju Yang at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) to study the electrical properties of cancer cells in comparison with normal epithelial cells. Microchips with featured microelectrodes were developed and used to measure the electrical properties of oral cancer cells and non-cancer cells, and their electrical properties will be analyzed using proper equivalent circuit models. The results of this study indicated that the device could differentiate between the electrical properties of cancer cells and normal cells. The technique has the potential for making an earlier diagnosis of oral cancer, because the oral epithelial cells are continuously shed into one of the body’s most accessible fluids, saliva. If some of the cells have become cancerous, they will likely appear in the saliva, even at very early stages. This research will provide a direct (without biomarkers) approach to distinguish cancer cells from normal cells for early diagnosis. It is also possible to monitor cancer metastasis and the progress of cancer treatment through monitoring the number of cancer cells in saliva. This project has resulted in the publication of several papers in high impact scientific journals such as Biosensors and Bioelectronics, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, and Biomedical Microdevices. The results have also been disseminated to communities of interest through a number of presentations in several scientific conferences including in the American Chemical Society (ACS) regional meetings, The Institute of Biological Engineering (IBE) Annual Meetings, The Electrochemical Society (ECS) Meetings. The project has contributed to the field of biosensor development and has a broad impact in the area of label-free biosensors in cancer research. The success of this project showed the great potential of such label-free impedance sensor for applications in cancer cell detection, drug screening, and cancer diagnostics. Education is another important component of this project. We emphasized the training of minority undergraduate students at NCCU in interdisciplinary research. During the four year funding period, this project provided financial supports to a total of 7 undergraduate students and trained these students by providing them hand-on experience in lab and improving their lab skills. Among these students, five of them are African-American students. This project improved their access to research and also benefited the retention of these students in science and engineering areas.
