Improving the reliability of cytology diagnosis with immunoplasmonic multiplex labeling

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Most cancer diagnoses are first established using a biopsy, and as such, biopsies are critical**to the health care of Canadians. Different types of biopsies are performed to achieve a**diagnosis, but physicians do prefer fine-needle aspiration cytology, hereafter referred to as**cytology, because it is associated with fewer side effects for the patients. Accordingly, the**number of cytology performed annually is increasing for many organs such as lung and**pancreas. Cytology is evaluated by pathologists, who are using different tools to refine their**diagnoses. The objective of the most commonly used tool is to detect proteins in the cells**which are specific for cancer. The multiple preparation steps that have to be performed to**colour those proteins can destroy said proteins and therefore affect the reliability of the tool.**Our objective is therefore to bypass the preparation steps by using metallic nanoparticles to**identify the proteins without degrading them, thus improving the reliability of the diagnosis.**Furthermore, we propose to use specific laser-based technologies to detect the metallic**nanoparticles. This project may be considered pioneering as clinical validation on human**cytology samples will ensure highly beneficial accuracy of diagnosis and optimal selection of**treatment, consequently improving the health of Canadian patients. To achieve this innovative**research project, we put together an excellent multidisciplinary and complementary team of**internationally renowned scientists and industrial partners coming from the full spectrum of**knowledge involved in this project. This team has already acquired a strong expertise in**metallic nanoparticles use and detection for biological diagnostics and we are recognized by**our peers as protein detection experts. Our excellence is demonstrated by multiple patents**and declarations of inventions. Our industrial partner, Photon etc, completes our skills in**commercialization of metallic nanoparticles and their detection.