Magnetic trapping with simultaneous photoacoustic detection of molecularly targeted rare circulating tumor cells

Photoacoustic (PA) imaging has been widely used in molecular imaging to detect diseased cells by targeting them with nanoparticle-based contrast agents. However, the sensitivity and specificity are easily degraded because contrast agent signals can be masked by the background. Magnetomotive photoacoustic imaging uses a new type of multifunctional composite particle combining an optically absorptive gold nanorod core and magnetic nanospheres, which can potentially accumulate and concentrate targeted cells while simultaneously enhancing their specific contrast compared to background signals. In this study, HeLa cells molecularly targeted using nanocomposites with folic acid mimicking targeted rare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) were circulated at a 6 ml/min flow rate for trapping and imaging studies. Preliminary results show that the cells accumulate rapidly in the presence of an externally applied magnetic field produced by a dual magnet system. The sensitivity of the current system can reach up to 1 cell/ml in clear water. By manipulating the trapped cells magnetically, the specificity of detecting cells in highly absorptive ink solution can be enhanced with 16.98 dB background suppression by applying motion filtering on PA signals to remove unwanted background signals insensitive to the magnetic field. The results appear promising for future preclinical studies on a small animal model and ultimate clinical detection of rare CTCs in the vasculature.