PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Smolina, Irina V.
AU  - Broude, Natalia E.
TI  - Ultrasensitive detection of DNA and protein markers in cancer cells
AID  - 10.7497/j.issn.2095-3941.2015.0048
DP  - 2015 Sep 01
TA  - Cancer Biology and Medicine
PG  - 143--149
VI  - 12
IP  - 3
4099  - http://www.cancerbiomed.org/content/12/3/143.short
4100  - http://www.cancerbiomed.org/content/12/3/143.full
SO  - Cancer Biol Med2015 Sep 01; 12
AB  - Cancer cells differ from normal cells in various parameters, and these differences are caused by genomic mutations and consequential altered gene expression. The genetic and functional heterogeneity of tumor cells is a major challenge in cancer research, detection, and effective treatment. As such, the use of diagnostic methods is important to reveal this heterogeneity at the single-cell level. Droplet microfluidic devices are effective tools that provide exceptional sensitivity for analyzing single cells and molecules. In this review, we highlight two novel methods that employ droplet microfluidics for ultra-sensitive detection of nucleic acids and protein markers in cancer cells. We also discuss the future practical applications of these methods.