Near-Infrared Fluorescent Ag₂S Nanodot-Based Signal Amplification for Efficient Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells

The level of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) plays a critical role in tumor metastasis and personalized therapy, but it is challenging for highly efficient capture and detection of CTCs because of the extremely low concentration in peripheral blood. Herein, we report near-infrared fluorescent Ag₂S nanodot-based signal amplification combing with immune-magnetic spheres (IMNs) for highly efficient magnetic capture and ultrasensitive fluorescence labeling of CTCs. The near-infrared fluorescent Ag₂S nanoprobe has been successfully constructed through hybridization chain reactions using aptamer-modified Ag₂S nanodots, which can extremely improve the imaging sensitivity and reduce background signal of blood samples. Moreover, the antiepithelial-cell-adhesion-molecule (EpCAM) antibody-labeled magnetic nanospheres have been used for highly capture rare tumor cells in whole blood. The near-infrared nanoprobe with signal amplification and IMNs platform exhibits excellent performance in efficient capture and detection of CTCs, which shows great potential in cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.