There is a growing need for fast, highly sensitive and quantitative technologies to detect and profile unaltered cells in biological samples. Technologies in current clinical use are often time consuming, expensive, or require considerable sample sizes. Here, we report a diagnostic magnetic resonance (DMR) sensor that combines a miniaturized NMR probe with targeted magnetic nanoparticles for detection and molecular profiling of cancer cells. The sensor measures the transverse relaxation rate of water molecules in biological samples in which target cells of interest are labeled with magnetic nanoparticles. We achieved remarkable sensitivity improvements over our prior DMR prototypes by synthesizing new nanoparticles with higher transverse relaxivity and by optimizing assay protocols. We detected as few as 2 cancer cells in 1-L sample volumes of unprocessed fine-needle aspirates of tumors and profiled the expression of several cellular markers in <15 min.microfluidics ͉ nanoparticle ͉ nuclear magnetic resonance S ensitive and quantitative technologies for molecular characterization of scant cells in easily accessible bodily sources (e.g., fine-needle aspirates (FNA), biopsies, whole blood, and other biological fluids) will have significant impact in life sciences and clinical practice (1, 2). If made available, such diagnostic platforms could be used for early detection/screening of cancer, comprehensive tumor characterization in patients, and targeted therapy based on personal responses to treatments (3, 4). The ideal detection technology would combine minimal sample processing with fast measurements, thus avoiding likely phenotypic/apoptotic changes of sampled cells. It would also allow for multiple biomarker detection in a single parent sample (multichannel detection) for accurate diagnosis (5). A number of sensors fulfilling some of these criteria have been developed based on optical (6, 7), electronic (8, 9), or magnetic detection (10, 11). The clinical utility of these systems, however, is limited, because they require lengthy sample purification or long assay times.We recently developed a NMR-based sensor that offers fast detection of biological targets in native samples (12). Termed ''DMR'' for diagnostic magnetic resonance, the sensor measures the transverse relaxation rate (R 2 ) of water molecules in biological samples in which target molecules or cells of interest are labeled with magnetic nanoparticles (MNP).Local magnetic fields created by the MNP accelerate the spinspin relaxation of water protons, increasing the R 2 of samples (13) and thus providing a sensing mechanism. Because most biological objects have negligible magnetic susceptibilities, DMR measurements can be performed in unprocessed samples, allowing for fast assays. As proof-of-concept, we developed a prototype sensor (DMR-1) that detected bacteria, analytes, and abundant cancer cells (10 6 cells per mL) (12). Despite the underlying technological advantages, however, it has been difficult to achieve detection sensitivities (Ϸ10 3 cells p...