Applications of colloidal quantum dots to cell tracking and assessment of metastatic potential in cancers

IEC 193

A. Paul Alivisatos, Department of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, B62 Hildebrand Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-1460
Colloidal quantum dots coated with silica can be used to track the motions of cells in culture. When cells are deposited on a collagen layer that is coated with quantum dots, the cells ingest all the dots over which they pass. By imaging the resulting tracks, one can obtain a quantitative measure of cell motility, which correlates directly with metastatic potential. These experiments have been applied to a wide variety of cell lines, including invasive and non-invasive tumor cells, as well as healthy cells. The prospects of using this method for rapid and quantitative determination of metastatic potential will be discussed.