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Updated: Jan 28, 2026

Enrich and Expand Rare Antigen-specific T Cells with Magnetic Nanoparticles
Published on: November 17, 2018
Magnetic Detection of Cancer Cells Using Tumor-Homing Peptide-Modified Magnetic Nanoparticles
Shengli Zhou1, Yuji Furutani1, Kei Yamashita1
1Department of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University, 3-1-1 Tsushimanaka, Okayama 700-8530, Japan.
Abstract:
Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) provide a platform for target detection because of their magnetic responsiveness to alternating magnetic fields (AMFs). We developed a detection method using MNPs modified with tumor-homing peptides (THPs), PL1 and PL3, which selectively bind to protein components enriched in malignant tissues. THP-MNPs were synthesized using maleimide-PEG-NHS linkers and characterized using transmission electron microscopy. Human glioblastoma cancer U87MG and normal tissue-derived HEK293 cells were incubated with THP-MNPs, and the magnetic signals were measured using a high-temperature superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer under an AMF (1.06 kHz). Dark-field microscopy confirmed the preferential binding of THP-MNPs to U87MG cells. In the absence of cells, THP-MNPs exhibited AMF-dependent signal enhancement, which correlated with particle size reduction due to THP release. This increase was completely suppressed in the presence of U87MG cells, indicating a strong THP-mediated interaction. PL3-MNPs exhibited superior discrimination between malignant and non-malignant cells. These results demonstrate that SQUID-based magnetic measurements using THP-MNPs enable rapid and label-free cancer cell detection.
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