Multiplexing Liquid Biopsy with Surface‐Enhanced Raman Scattering Spectroscopy

Abstract

Among the main challenges faced in cancer research, early detection, metastatic pathways and biomarker discovery are being tackled both by researchers and technology‐based companies. The development of novel technologies that can advance the state‐of‐the‐art for those defined challenges is critical in order to enhance the survival rates as well as to significantly lower cancer associated costs, not to mention social and human impact. In the recent years, the field of liquid biopsy has grown tremendously due to its capacity to obtain and study tumor material in a non‐invasive way. Liquid biopsy arises as an alternative diagnostic tool based on the analysis of biomarkers present in body fluids. The characterization of those biomarkers is commonly made by already well‐established standard technologies, usually limited in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, multiplexing, high‐throughput, and/or speed of analysis. Unfortunately, highly sensitive molecular diagnostic technologies still have high associated costs preventing their universal application. In this review, the authors aim to provide the reader with a general comprehension on how surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy can overcome those bottlenecks. The combination of SERS and liquid biopsy may fulfill the holy grail of the so‐called precision medicine, ultimately contributing to the dream of cancer chronification.

Multiplex SERS Phenotyping of Single Cancer Cells in Microdroplets

“…On the one hand, previous works benefiting from microdroplets technology for the imaging of single cells have been mostly focused on the use of fluorescence imaging, limiting the number of biomarkers that can be studied at the same time. [67,68] On the other hand, SERS imaging of cells based on protein expression has been reported. For example, Nima et al demonstrated the analysis of the pheno type of CTCs using this strategy, but in a bulk experiment ) SERS spectra acquired at the surface of each of the five single-cells displayed in (a) after labeling with GNSs@1-NAT@SiO 2 @EpCAM.…”

Toward Personalized Nanomedicine: The Critical Evaluation of Micro and Nanodevices for Cancer Biomarker Analysis in Liquid Biopsy

“…[157] Recent advances in nanofabrication of homogeneous SERS substrates, combined with development within user-friendly and compact miniaturized systems could advance SERS substrates toward clinical implementation. [152] www.advancedsciencenews.com www.small-journal.com…”

“…Currently, only a limited number of SERS‐based ctDNA detection methods have been reported [ 152 ] and fully portable ctDNA‐based SERS platforms are yet to be realized. However, efforts toward portable platforms have been reported.…”

Label-Free Sensing with Metal Nanostructure-Based Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Cancer Diagnosis

“…Microfluidics has been coupled with a broad range of sensing technologies such as fluorescence, mass-spectrometry, electrochemistry, and UV–vis. , The diversity of applications arising from these combinations in the context of cancer covers not only diagnostics but also treatment, drug development and dosing, single-cell and genetic material analysis, and organ-on-a-chip applications. − In line with these developments, optofluidic SERS platforms are being increasingly explored in biosensing . Label-free SERS measurements in microfluidic platforms have demonstrated remarkable performance for a broad range of biological targets such as bacteria, − DNA, miRNA, narcotics, and food contaminants. − Very recently, with the advent of personalized medicine and the revolution in data analytics, new opportunities to boost SERS-on-a-chip technologies are being explored. − …”