Development of total consumption systems for inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in single particle and single cell modes

金属纳米粒子越来越多地应用于化妆品、食品包装、纺织品、牙膏和其他无处不在的产品中。这些纳米粒子可能最终进入没有水处理厂的农村和土著社区的饮用水中，使这些人口处于危险之中。这些纳米粒子对我们的环境、食物和健康的影响在很大程度上是未知的，因为测量环境和生物系统中的纳米粒子是非常困难的。同样，通过测量细胞对含金属药物的摄取来开发针对肿瘤的智能疗法也很困难，因为它需要分析许多单个细胞来评估患病细胞与健康细胞对药物摄取的选择性。这一合作旨在开发样品导入系统（一个用于纳米颗粒分析，一个用于细胞分析），允许对每个样品中的每个纳米颗粒或细胞进行快速分析，这在目前是不可能的，以提供一个完整的图像。待开发的系统有望通过减少或消除目前标准样品导入系统所需的样品预处理来促进对真实样品的分析，例如天然水和其他环境样品，从而增加每天可分析的样品数量。该系统将被优化用于细胞分析，将用于评估合作者正在设计的新药的效率和选择性。这种分析将允许调整药物剂量，以便优先针对癌细胞。这将反过来促进含铜和含镍靶向疗法的发展，以治疗癌症和神经系统疾病。治疗候选药物从铂（目前用于抗癌药物）转向铜或镍，将极大地有利于患者获得更实惠（因此公平）和更安全的药物。其目的是为最终的系统申请专利，并允许加拿大样品导入系统制造商Burgener Research销售这些系统。届时，加拿大将成为纳米粒子和细胞测量领域的世界领先者。

Metal nanoparticles are increasingly used in cosmetics, food packaging, textiles, toothpaste, and other ubiquitous products. These nanoparticles may end up in the potable water of rural and indigenous communities without water treatment plants, putting these populations at risk. The impact of these nanoparticles on our environment, our food, and our health is largely unknown because measuring nanoparticles in environmental and biological systems is very difficult. Similarly, measuring the uptake of metal-containing drugs by cells to develop smart therapeutics targeting tumors is also difficult because it requires analysis of numerous individual cells to assess the selectivity of the drug uptake by diseased cells versus healthy cells. This partnership aims to develop sample introduction systems (one for the analysis of nanoparticles, one for the analysis of cells) allowing the quick analysis of every nanoparticle or cell in each sample, which is not currently possible, to provide a complete picture. The systems to be developed are expected to facilitate the analysis of real samples, such as natural waters and other environmental samples by reducing or eliminating the sample pretreatment that is currently required with standard sample introduction systems, thereby increasing the number of samples that can be analyzed daily. The system that will be optimized for the analysis of cells will be used to assess the efficiency and selectivity of new drugs being designed by collaborators. Such analysis will allow drug dosage to be adjusted so that cancerous cells are preferentially targeted. It would in turn allow the advancement of copper- and nickel-containing targeted therapeutics to treat cancer and neurological disorders. A switch from platinum (currently used in anti-cancer drugs) to copper or nickel in therapeutic candidates would greatly benefit patients' access to more affordable (hence equitable) and safer medication. The intention is to patent the resulting systems and allow Burgener Research, a Canadian manufacturer of sample introduction systems, to sell them. Canada would then become a world leader in the measurement of nanoparticles and cells.