A Platform for Fast and Accurate Drug-resistance Identification of Cancer Cells

Professor Lin, Yuan   (Project Coordinator (PC))

Dr Yip Timothy Tak-Chun   (Co-Investigator)

Professor Yao Shuhuai   (Co-Investigator)

Dr Ngan Roger Kai Cheong   (Co-Investigator)

12

2016-05-23

2017-05-22

176400

A Platform for Fast and Accurate Drug-resistance Identification of Cancer Cells

cancer cells, fast and accurate drug-resistance

Others - Mechanical, Production and Industrial Engineering

Engineering (E)

InP/063/16

Innovation and Technology Fund Internship Programme

2015

Completed

Drug resistance of tumor cells is frequently observed in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Conventional methods for drug resistance classification often require long time colony culturing and screening, taking days or even weeks to complete, which could prevent the patients from receiving immediate treatment that is crucial. As such, finding new and faster ways to quantify the resistance of cancer cells to leading chemotherapeutic drugs has always been an area of great interest. Interestingly, our recent study showed that the resealing dynamics of micron-sized membrane pores in drug-sensitive nasopharyngeal and lung tumor cells is distinctively different from their drug-resistant counterparts, demonstrating its potential in the in vitro classification of cancer cells. This project aims to design and develop a platform for the fast and accurate drug resistance identification of tumor cells. Specifically, a prototype system will be fabricated where membrane holes on living cells, immobilized on a patterned substrate, are introduced by electroporation. Size evolution of these pores will be monitored optically based on which drug-resistance identification can be achieved. By comparing with results from other traditional methods, the validity and reliability of our approach will be extensively tested and verified on different types of cancers.