Tel Aviv University Researchers Target Drug-Resistant Ovarian Tumors with Nanotechnology

Tel Aviv University researchers devise a fast and effective nanotechnology — called “gagomers” — to combat drug-resistant ovarian cancer.

Professor Dan Peer of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Cell Research and Immunology has proposed a new strategy to tackle drug-resistant ovarian cancer using a new nanoscale drug-delivery system designed to target specific cancer cells. The study was published in February in the journal ACS Nano.

Nanotechnology usually refers to an object that is 1-to–100 nanometers in size. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter. By comparison, the width of a strand of hair is approximately 100,000 times larger than a nanometer.

Prof. Peer and his team — Keren Cohen and Rafi Emmanuel from Peer’s Laboratory of Nanomedicine and Einat Kisin-Finfer and Doron Shabbat, from TAU’s Department of Chemistry — devised a cluster of nanoparticles called “gagomers,” which are made from fats and coated with a kind of polysugar. When filled with chemotherapy drugs (in this case doxorubicin), these clusters accumulate in tumors, producing dramatic therapeutic benefits.

The objective of Peer’s research is two-fold: to provide a specific target for anti-cancer drugs to increase their therapeutic benefits, and to reduce the toxic side effects of anti-cancer therapies.

Why Chemotherapy Fails

According to Prof. Peer, traditional courses of chemotherapy are not an effective line of attack. Chemotherapy’s failing lies in the inability of the medicine to be absorbed and maintained within the tumor cell long enough to destroy it. In most cases, the chemotherapy drug is almost immediately ejected by the cancer cell, severely damaging the healthy organs that surround it, leaving the tumor cell intact.

Gagomers (labeled in color) accumulating on ovarian cancer cells.
(Credit: Image courtesy of American Friends of Tel Aviv University)

But with this new nanotechnology therapy, Peer and his colleagues saw a 25-fold increase in tumor-accumulated medication and a dramatic dip in toxic accumulation in healthy organs. Tested on laboratory mice, the gagomer affects a change in drug-resistant ovarian cancer tumor cells. Receptors on tumor cells recognize the sugar that encases the gagomer, allowing the binding gagomer to slowly release tiny particles of chemotherapy into the cancerous cell. As more and more of the drug accumulates within the tumor cell, the cancer cells begin to die off within 24-48 hours. In this preclinical setting, the doxorubicin encased gagomers even outperformed pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (Doxil) — a standard of care drug used to treat recurrent ovarian cancer.

“Tumors become resistant very quickly. Following the first, second, and third courses of chemotherapy, the tumors start pumping drugs out of the cells as a survival mechanism,” said Prof. Peer. “Most patients with tumor cells beyond the ovaries relapse and ultimately die due to the development of drug resistance. We wanted to create a safe drug-delivery system, which wouldn’t harm the body’s immune system or organs.”

A Personal Perspective

Prof. Peer chose to tackle ovarian cancer in his research because his mother-in-law passed away at the age of 54 from the disease. “She received all the courses of chemotherapy and survived only a year and a half,” Peer said. “She died from the drug-resistant aggressive tumors.”

“At the end of the day, you want to do something natural, simple, and smart. We are committed to try to combine both laboratory and therapeutic arms to create a less toxic, focused drug that combats aggressive drug-resistant cancerous cells,” said Prof. Peer. “We hope the concept will be harnessed in the next few years in clinical trials on aggressive tumors,” said Prof. Peer.

Sources:

• Researchers Devise a Fast and Effective Mechanism to Combat One of the Most Aggressive Cancers, American Friends of Tel Aviv University, Press Release, February 24, 2014. [PDF Full Text Version]

• Keren Cohen, et al. Modulation of Drug Resistance in Ovarian Adenocarcinoma Using Chemotherapy Entrapped in Hyaluronan-Grafted Nanoparticle Clusters. ACS Nano, 2014; 140206084950005 DOI: 10.1021/nn500205b

Novel Targeted Gene Therapies Use Diphtheria Toxin To Fight Ovarian Cancer; One Clinical Trial Underway

Two separate research teams reported promising results last week based upon preclinical studies involving the use of diphtheria toxin to fight ovarian cancer. … A targeted gene therapy was utilized in both studies, wherein a gene fragment capable of producing diptheria toxin was combined with a nanoparticle which was targeted against a unique or overexpressed genetic characteristic of the ovarian cancer tumor cells. Both research teams reported significant reduction in ovarian cancer tumor mass and extended survival for the treated mice. Based upon these findings, one research team already announced the opening of a Phase I/II clinical trial which will test the novel therapy on patients with advanced stage ovarian cancer.

Targeted Gene Therapy In the Fight Against Ovarian Cancer

The peritoneal cavity is a common site of ovarian cancer and accompanying ascites caused by the disease. Ascites is an abnormal buildup of fluid in the peritoneal cavity that causes swelling.  Malignant tumor cells may be found in the ascites fluid in connection with late stage ovarian cancer.  Massive ascites and the related abdominal distention can cause anorexia, nausea, vomiting and respiratory difficulties, and negatively impact the patient’s quality of life. Ovarian cancer patients frequently experience disease involvement of the pelvic and retroperitoneal lymph nodes as well. The standard primary treatment of patients with advanced stage ovarian cancer is cytoreductive surgery followed by platinum drug and taxane drug doublet chemotherapy. Despite this aggressive approach, there is a high rate of disease recurrence. Although discovery of several other active nonplatinum cytotoxic agents has improved outcome, long-term survival rates are low. Success of traditional chemotherapy has been limited by drug resistance and lack of specificity with respect to disease formation and progression. Thus, novel “targeted” ovarian cancer therapies that achieve improved long-term disease control with lower toxicity are desperately needed.

A so-called “targeted therapy” utilizes drugs or other medically manufactured substances (e.g., small molecule drugs or monoclonal antibodies) to block the growth and spread of cancer by interfering with specific molecules involved in cancer tumor growth and progression.  By identifying and selectively focusing upon molecular and cellular changes or unique genetic characteristics that are specific to cancer, targeted cancer therapies may be more effective than other types of treatment, including chemotherapy, and less harmful to normal cells.

It is possible for a targeted therapy to incorporate a gene therapy. Gene therapy is an experimental treatment that involves the introduction of genetic material (DNA or RNA) into a human cell to fight a disease such as cancer.  When both therapeutic approaches are combined by researchers, a “targeted gene therapy” is the result.  A targeted gene therapy is an attractive approach to controlling or killing human cancer cells only if the therapy can selectively identify and exploit the genetic and epigenetic alterations in cancer cells, without harming normal cells that do not possess such alternations.

Two separate research groups reported promising results last week based upon preclinical studies involving the use of diphtheria toxin to fight ovarian cancer.  The toxin is produced by a deadly bacterium (Corynebacterium diphtheriae).  A targeted gene therapy was utilized in both studies, wherein a gene fragment capable of producing diptheria toxin was combined with a nanoparticle which was targeted against a unique or overexpressed genetic characteristic of the ovarian cancer tumor cells.  Both research teams reported significant reduction in ovarian cancer tumor mass and extended survival for the treated mice. Based upon these findings, one research team already announced the opening of a Phase I/II clinical trial which will test the novel therapy on patients with advanced stage ovarian cancer.

MIT-Lankenau Institute Researchers Use Diphtheria Toxin Gene Therapy To Target Overexpression Of The MSLN & HE4 Ovarian Cancer Genes.

Daniel Anderson, Ph.D., Research Associate, David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The first study, which appears in the August 1 issue of the journal Cancer Research, was conducted by a team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Lankenau Institute of Medical Research (Lankenau Institute). In this study, the researchers used a nanoparticle as a delivery vehicle (or vector) for DNA that encodes a diphtheria toxin suicide protein (DT-A).  The novel nanoparticles are made with positively charged, biodegradable polymers known as poly(beta-amino esters). When mixed together, these polymers can spontaneously assemble with DNA to form nanoparticles. The polymer-DNA nanoparticle can deliver functional DNA when injected into or near the targeted tissue.

The nanoparticle carrying the DT-A is designed to target overexpression of two genes (mesothelin (MSLN) and HE4 (or WFDC2)) that are highly active in ovarian tumor cells, but not in normal cells. Once inside an ovarian cancer tumor cell, the DT-A disrupts the tumor cell’s ability to manufacture critical life sustaining proteins, thereby causing cell death.  Accordingly, the choice of the DT-A fragment of a diptheria toxin gene ensures high ovarian cancer cell killing activity.  It also avoids unintended toxicity to normal cells because the DT-A released from destroyed ovarian cancer cells is not able to enter normal neighboring tissue cells in the absence of the DT-B fragment which was excluded from the original nanoparticle delivery system or vector.

As part of this study, researchers administered DT-A nanoparticles directly into the peritoneal cavity – which encases abdominal organs such as the stomach, liver, spleen, ovaries and uterus – of mice xenografted with primary and metastatic ovarian tumors.  Ovarian cancer is known to initially spread throughout the peritoneal cavity, and current therapeutic approaches in humans include direct injection into the peritoneal space, thereby targeting the therapy to the ovaries and nearby tissues where tumors may have spread.

“… [The researchers] discovered that the intraperitoneal (IP) administration of DT-A nanoparticles resulted in a significant reduction in ovarian tumor mass and extended survival for the treated mice.  The researchers also found that the targeted gene-therapy treatment was as effective, and in some cases more effective, than the traditional chemotherapy combination of cisplatin and paclitaxel. …”

Robert S. Langer is the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research Professor (there are 14 Institute Professors at MIT; being an Institute Professor is the highest honor that can be awarded to a faculty member). Dr. Langer has written approximately 1,050 articles. He also has approximately 750 issued and pending patents worldwide. Dr. Langer’s patents have been licensed or sublicensed to over 220 pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology and medical device companies. He is the most cited engineer in history.

Janet Sawicki, Ph.D., Professor, Lankenau Institute of Medical Research. Dr. Sawicki also serves as an Associate Professor at the Kimmel Cancer Center of Thomas Jefferson University. Her ovarian cancer research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Sandy Rollman Foundation, the Teal Ribbon Ovarian Cancer Foundation, and the Kaleidoscope of Hope Foundation.

Daniel Anderson, Ph.D., research associate in the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT and a senior author of the paper, and others from MIT, including Institute Professor Robert Langer, along with researchers from the Lankenau Institute, led by Professor Janet Sawicki, discovered that the intraperitoneal (IP) administration of DT-A nanoparticles resulted in a significant reduction in ovarian tumor mass and extended survival for the treated mice.  The researchers also found that the targeted gene-therapy treatment was as effective, and in some cases more effective, than the traditional chemotherapy combination of cisplatin and paclitaxel. Furthermore, the novel therapy did not have the toxic side effects of chemotherapy because the diptheria toxin gene is engineered to function in ovarian cells but is inactive in normal cell types.

Based upon these finding, the MIT and Lankenau Institute researchers concluded that IP administration of DT-A nanoparticles, combined with designed targeting of those nanoparticles against ovarian tumor cell gene (MSLN & HE4) expression, holds promise as an effective therapy for advanced-stage ovarian cancer. According to Anderson, human clinical trials could start, after some additional preclinical studies, in about 1 to 2 years.  Currently ovarian cancer patients undergo surgery followed by chemotherapy. In many cases, the cancer returns after treatment.  Disease recurrence is problematic because there are no curative therapies for advanced-stage tumors.

For several years, the MIT-Lankenau Institute team worked to develop the DT-A nanoparticles as an alternative to viruses, which are associated with safety risks. In addition to ovarian cancer, these nanoparticles have demonstrated treatment potential for a variety of diseases, including prostate cancer and viral infection. “I’m so pleased that our research on drug delivery and novel materials can potentially contribute to the treatment of ovarian cancer,” Langer said. In future studies, the team plans to examine the effectiveness of nanoparticle-delivered diphtheria toxin genes in other types of cancer, including brain, lung and liver cancers.

Other MIT authors of the paper are recent MIT Ph.D. recipients Gregory Zugates and Jordan Green (now a professor at John’s Hopkins University), and technician Naushad Hossain. The research was funded by the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health.

Israeli Researchers Use Diphtheria Toxin Gene Therapy To Target Overexpression Of The H19 Ovarian Cancer Gene.

The second study was conducted by Israeli researchers and was published August 6 online ahead of print in the Journal of Translational Medicine.

In the provisional study report, the researchers note that based upon earlier studies from their team and others, the H19 gene has emerged as a candidate for cancer gene therapy. The H19 gene is expressed at substantial levels in ovarian cancer tumor cells, but is nearly undetectable in surrounding normal tissue cells.  Although the Israeli research team acknowledges that the exact function of H19 is the subject of past debate, it notes that recent data suggests a role for H19 in promoting cancer progression, angiogenesis and metastasis.

As a first step, Israeli researchers tested H19 gene expression in ovarian cancer cells obtained from the ascites fluid of 24 patients, and established that H19 expression levels were detected in 90% of the tested patients. Of those patients with positive H19 expression, 76% showed a moderate or high level of expression, while 24% showed a low level of expression.

Next, the researchers created a DT-A nanoparticle similar to the one created by the MIT/Lankenau research team as described above, except the Israeli nanoparticle was designed to target H19 overexpression within ovarian cancer cells.  The therapeutic effect of the DT-A/H19 nanoparticles was first tested in vitro against various ovarian cancer cell lines and cells obtained from patient ascites fluid.  The researchers determined that the DT-A/H19 nanoparticle therapy caused ovarian cancer cell death.  The therapeutic effect of the DT-A nanoparticles was tested in vivo by injecting the DT-A nanoparticles into mice xenografted with ovarian cancer tumors. The researchers estimate that the DT-A nanoparticle therapy reduced ovarian cancer tumor growth in the treated mice by 40%.

Based upon these finding, the researchers note that although the study report issued is provisonal, it is their working hypothesis that intraperitoneal administration of DT-A/H19 nanoparticles holds the potential to (1) reach ascites tumor cells, (2) deliver its intracellular toxin without targeting normal tissue cells, and (3) reduce tumor burden & fluid accumulation; and therefore, improve the patient’s quality of life, and hopefully, prolong her survival.

• DT-A/H19 Nanoparticle Therapy Administered To An Israeli Patient On A Compassionate Use Trial Basis

In the provisional study report, the researchers state that the targeted gene therapy was administered to an Israeli patient with advanced, recurrent ovarian cancer, who qualified for compassionate use treatment under Israeli regulatory rules.  Specifically, the patient’s intraperitoneal ovarian cancer metastases and ascites were treated with the DT-A/H19 nanoparticle therapy after the failure of conventional chemotherapy. The results of the single patient compassionate use trial suggest that the drug caused no serious adverse events at any drug dosage level.  Moreover, the patient experienced (1) a 50% decrease in serum cancer marker protein CA-125, (2) a significant decrease in the number of cancerous cells in the ascites, and (3) a clinical improvement as reported by her doctors.  It is reported that the patient’s quality of life increased during the course of treatment and her condition continues to be stable, with no new cancerous growths.

• Phase I/II Clinical Trial To Test DT-A/H19 Nanoparticle Therapy (BC-819) In the U.S. & Israel

The DT-A/H19 nanoparticle therapy is being developed commercially by BioCancell Therapeutics, Inc (BioCancell) Recently, BioCancell announced the opening of a clinical trial to test the DT-A/H19 nanoparticle therapy (also referred to as BC-819) in patients with advanced stage ovarian cancer.  The clinical trial is entitled, Phase 1/2a, Dose-Escalation, Safety, Pharmacokinetic, and Preliminary Efficacy Study of Intraperitoneal Administration of DTA-H19 in Subjects With Advanced Stage Ovarian Cancer, and the trial investigators are recruiting patients in the U.S. and Israel as indicated below.

University of Pennsylvania Medical Center [Abramson Cancer Center] (Recruiting)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104-6142
Contact: Lana E. Kandalaft, Pharm.D, PhD – 215-537-4782 (lknd@mail.med.upenn.edu)
Principal Investigator: George Coukos, M.D., Ph.D.

Massey Cancer Center (Not yet recruiting)
Richmond, Virginia, United States, 23298-0037
Contact: Jane W. Baggett, RN 804-628-2360 (jbaggett@mcvh-vcu.edu)
Principal Investigator: Cecelia H. Boardman, M.D.

The Edith Wolfson Medical Center (Recruiting)
Holon, Israel
Contact: Pnina Nir (972)-52-8445143 (pninanir@wolfson.health.gov.il)
Principal Investigator: Tally Levy, M.D.

Hadassah University Hospital (Recruiting)
Jerusalem, Israel
Contact: Zoya Bezalel (972)-2-6776725 (zoyab@hadassah.org.il)
Principal Investigator: David Edelman, MD

Meir Hospital (Recruiting)
Kfar Saba, Israel
Contact: Tal Naderi 09-7472213 (Ta.INadiri@clalit.org.il)
Principal Investigator: Ami Fishman, MD

In the provisional study report, the Israeli researchers discuss the importance of collecting data regarding the correlation between the level of ovarian cancer cell H19 expression and the efficacy of the treatment as part of the clinical trial discussed above.  Based upon accrued future clinical trial data, the researchers believe that they will be able to identify in advance patients that will respond to this novel therapy, as well as non-responders who are resistant to all known therapies, thereby avoiding treatment failure and unnecessary suffering and cost.

References:

• Nanoparticles target ovarian cancer – New gene therapy technique could fight late-stage tumors, MIT News, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 30 Jul. 09.

• Huang YH, Zugates GT, Peng W, et. al. Nanoparticle-delivered suicide gene therapy effectively reduces ovarian tumor burden in mice. Cancer Res. 2009 Aug 1;69(15):6184-91.

• Mizrahi A, Czerniak A, Levy T, et. al. Development of targeted therapy for ovarian cancer mediated by a plasmid expressing diphtheria toxin under the control of H19 regulatory sequences. J Transl Med. 2009 Aug 6;7(1):69. [Epub ahead of print][Provisional Study Full Text – PDF Adobe Reader Document]

• Phase 1/2a, Dose-Escalation, Safety, Pharmacokinetic, and Preliminary Efficacy Study of Intraperitoneal Administration of DTA-H19 in Subjects With Advanced Stage Ovarian Cancer, Clinical Trial Summary, http://www.ClinicalTrials.gov, First Received: January 18, 2009 Last Updated: June 12, 2009.

• Ovarian Cancer – Phase I/IIa Clinical Trial of BC-819 [DTA-H19], Clinical Trial Description, BioCancell Therapeutics, Inc.

Stanford Researchers Harness Nanoparticles To Track Cancer Cell Changes

“A new imaging technology could give scientists the ability to simultaneously measure as many as 100 or more distinct features in or on a single cell. In a disease such as cancer, that capability would provide a much better picture of what’s going on in individual tumor cells. A Stanford University School of Medicine team led by Cathy Shachaf, PhD, an instructor in microbiology and immunology, has for the first time used specially designed dye-containing nanoparticles to simultaneously image two features within single cells. … In a study published April 15 in the online journal PLoS-ONE, the Stanford team was able to simultaneously monitor changes in two intracellular proteins that play crucial roles in the development of cancer. Successful development of the new technique may improve scientists’ ability not only to diagnose cancers-for example, by determining how aggressive tumors’ constituent cells are-but to eventually separate living, biopsied cancer cells from one another based on characteristics indicating their stage of progression or their degree of resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs….”

“STANFORD, Calif. – The more dots there are, the more accurate a picture you get when you connect them. A new imaging technology could give scientists the ability to simultaneously measure as many as 100 or more distinct features in or on a single cell. In a disease such as cancer, that capability would provide a much better picture of what’s going on in individual tumor cells.

Catherine Shachaf, Instructor, Microbiology & Immunology - Baxter Laboratory, Stanford School of Medicine

A Stanford University School of Medicine team led by Cathy Shachaf, PhD, an instructor in microbiology and immunology, has for the first time used specially designed dye-containing nanoparticles to simultaneously image two features within single cells. Although current single-cell flow cytometry technologies can do up to 17 simultaneous visualizations, this new method has the potential to do far more. The new technology works by enhancing the detection of ultra-specific but very weak patterns, known as Raman signals, that molecules emit in response to light.

In a study published April 15 in the online journal PLoS-ONE, the Stanford team was able to simultaneously monitor changes in two intracellular proteins that play crucial roles in the development of cancer. Successful development of the new technique may improve scientists’ ability not only to diagnose cancers-for example, by determining how aggressive tumors’ constituent cells are-but to eventually separate living, biopsied cancer cells from one another based on characteristics indicating their stage of progression or their degree of resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs. That would expedite the testing of treatments targeting a tumor’s most recalcitrant cells, said Shachaf, a cancer researcher who works in a laboratory run by the study’s senior author, Garry Nolan, PhD, associate professor of microbiology and immunology and a member of Stanford’s Cancer Center.

Cancer starts out in a single cell, and its development is often heralded by changes in the activation levels of certain proteins. In the world of cell biology, one common way for proteins to get activated is through a process called phosphorylation that slightly changes a protein’s shape, in effect turning it on.

Two intracellular proteins, Stat1 and Stat6, play crucial roles in the development of cancer. The Stanford team was able to simultaneously monitor changes in phosphorylation levels of both proteins in lab-cultured myeloid leukemia cells. The changes in Stat1 and Stat6 closely tracked those demonstrated with existing visualization methods, establishing proof of principle for the new approach.

While the new technology so far has been used only to view cells on slides, it could eventually be used in a manner similar to flow cytometry, the current state-of-the-art technology, which lets scientists visualize single cells in motion. In flow cytometry, cells are bombarded with laser light as they pass through a scanning chamber. The cells can then be analyzed and, based on their characteristics, sorted and routed to different destinations within the cytometer.

Garry Nolan, Associate Professor, Microbiology & Immunology - Baxter Laboratory; Member, Bio-X; Member, Stanford Cancer Center, Stanford School of Medicine

Still, flow cytometry has its limits. It involves tethering fluorescent dye molecules to antibodies, with different colors tied to antibodies that target different molecules. The dye molecules respond to laser light by fluorescing-echoing light at exactly the same wavelength, or color, with which they were stimulated. The fluorescence’s strength indicates the abundance of the cell-surface features to which those dyes are now attached. But at some point, the light signals given off by multiple dyes begin to interfere with one another. It is unlikely that the number of distinct features flow cytometry can measure simultaneously will exceed 20 or so.

The new high-tech dye-containing particles used by the Stanford team go a step further. They give off not just single-wavelength fluorescent echoes but also more-complex fingerprints comprising wavelengths slightly different from the single-color beams that lasers emit. These patterns, or Raman signals, occur when energy levels of electrons are just barely modified by weak interactions among the constituent atoms in the molecule being inspected.

Raman signals are emitted all the time by various molecules, but they’re ordinarily too weak to detect. To beef up their strength, the Stanford team employed specialized nanoparticles produced by Intel Corp., each with its own distinctive signature. Intel has designed more than 100 different so-called COINs, or composite organic–inorganic nanoparticles: These are essentially sandwiches of dye molecules and atoms of metals such as silver, gold or copper whose reflective properties amplify a dye molecule’s Raman signals while filtering out its inherent fluorescent response. The signals are collected and quantified by a customized, automated microscope.

Shachaf anticipates being able to demonstrate simultaneous visualization of nine or 10 COIN-tagged cellular features in the near future and hopes to bring that number to 20 or 30, a new high, before long. ‘The technology’s capacity may ultimately far exceed that number,’ she added. Some day it could be used for more than 100 features. Meanwhile, another group outside Stanford, now collaborating with the Nolan group, has developed a prototype device that can detect Raman signals in a continuous flow of single cells, analogous to flow cytometry but with higher resolving power, Shachaf said.

The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute’s Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence Focused on Therapy Response and by the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute. Other Stanford contributors were researchers Sailaja Elchuri, PhD, and Dennis Mitchell of the Nolan lab; engineering and materials science graduate student Ai Leen Koh; and Robert Sinclair, PhD, professor of materials science and engineering.

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The Stanford University School of Medicine consistently ranks among the nation’s top 10 medical schools, integrating research, medical education, patient care and community service. For more news about the school, please visit http://mednews.stanford.edu. The medical school is part of Stanford Medicine, which includes Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. For information about all three, please visit http://stanfordmedicine.org/about/news.html.”

Source: Stanford researchers harness nanoparticles to track cancer cell changes, by Bruce Goldman, News Release, Stanford School of Medicine, April 14, 2009.

Primary Citation:  Shachaf CM, Elchuri SV, Koh AL, Zhu J, Nguyen LN, et al. 2009  A Novel Method for Detection of Phosphorylation in Single Cells by Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) using Composite Organic-Inorganic Nanoparticles (COINs). PLoS ONE 4(4): e5206. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.000520. For an Adobe Reader PDF copy of the study, CLICK HERE.