Single Molecule Analysis Tool (SMAT) for Multiplexed Label-Free Assessment of Rare Cell Populations

A nanowell sensor for single molecular proteomic analysis of lung cancer has been designed. The nanowell sensor is an electrochemical immunoassay and comprises of a heterogenous nanoporous arrays integrated on to a gold microelectronic platform. The sensor operates on the principle of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Our approach to classification of lung cancer is based on screening for levels of expression of specific proteomic biomarkers associated with lung cancer stem cells. Proteomic activity for two lung cancer cell lines for two specific markers (ALDH1A1 and ALDH1A3) was quantified. Test samples prepared by synthetically spiking human pooled serum were tested and quantified for cancer stem cell marker activity. The lowest proteomic activity measured with (a) ALDH1A3 was 0.01 ng/mL and (b) ALDH1A1 was 1 ng/mL correlating to the detection of unit stem cell count.