Publications by authors named "Gourishankar Aland"

Capturing circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from the peripheral blood of cancer patients, where they are disseminated among billions of other blood cells, is one of the most daunting challenge. We report OncoDiscover®, a multicomponent nano-system consisting of iron oxide (FeO) nanoparticles (NPs), polyamidoamine generation 4 dendrimers (PAMAM-G4-NH), graphene oxide (GO) sheets and an anti-epithelial cell adhesion molecule (anti-EpCAM) antibody (Fe-GSH-PAMAM-GO-EpCAM) for the selective and precise capture of CTCs. We further evaluated this system for therapeutically important oncotargets, exemplifying overexpression of the programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) as a functional assay on CTCs in cancer patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The lack of appropriate prognostic biomarkers remains a significant obstacle in the early detection of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC), a cancer type with a high mortality rate. Despite considerable advancements in treatment, the success in diagnosing HNSCC at an early stage still needs to be improved. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) are overexpressed in various cancers, including HNSCC, and have recently been proposed as possible therapeutic targets for HNSCC.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In this report, the relative efficiency of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and nanofibers (CNFs) to capture circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from the blood sample of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients was evaluated. Detection and enumeration of CTCs are critical for monitoring cancer progression. Both types of nanostructured cellulose were chemically modified with Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule (EpCAM) antibody and iron oxide nanoparticles.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Liquid biopsy is emerging as a non-invasive tool, providing a personalized snapshot of a primary and metastatic tumour. It aids in detecting early metastasis, recurrence or resistance to the disease. We aimed to assess the role of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) as a predictive biomarker in recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancer (head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC)).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * A specific detection method revealed high sensitivity (94.32%) and accuracy (95.17%) for identifying CTCs, with certain thresholds indicating risks like nodal metastasis and poor survival outcomes.
  • * Results showed that higher CTC levels correlated significantly with adverse clinical factors and were associated with a reduced median survival rate, suggesting their potential as a valuable prognostic marker.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are important cancer markers that help in early detection and monitoring of disease progression, but isolating and studying them is difficult due to their low numbers and variety.
  • A new cotton microfluidic substrate (CMS) has been developed which isolates CTCs efficiently from cancer patients' blood, allowing for their growth in 3D models to test drug effectiveness and resistance.
  • The CMS demonstrated superior CTC capture rates and enhanced tumor growth when using nanostructured surfaces, showing promise for future cancer diagnostic tools and treatments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Advanced materials and chemo-specific designs at the nano/micrometer scale are leading to significant innovations in cancer diagnostics, particularly in isolating circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood.
  • This review focuses on the chemical methods and substrates used to enhance the specificity and efficiency of isolating CTCs, emphasizing the use of functionalized linkers and advanced chemical platforms.
  • The importance of capturing CTCs is highlighted for real-time analysis that aids in early detection of metastasis, monitoring treatment responses, and assessing overall patient survival outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Herein we report a hierarchically organized, water-dispersible 'nanocage' composed of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), which are magnetically powered by iron oxide (FeO) nanoparticles (NPs) to capture circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in blood for head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. Capturing CTCs from peripheral blood is extremely challenging due to their low abundance and its account is clinically validated in progression-free survival of patients with HNC. Engaging multiple hydroxyl groups along the molecular backbone of CNC, we co-ordinated FeO NPs onto CNC scaffold, which was further modified by conjugation with a protein - transferrin (Tf) for targeted capture of CTCs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The design and facile synthesis of sterically constrained new analogs of PNA having gem-dimethyl substitutions on glycine (dmg-PNA-T) is presented. The PNA oligomers [aminoethyl dimethylglycyl (aedmg) and aminopropyl dimethylglycyl (apdmg)] synthesized from the monomers 6 and 12) effected remarkable stabilization of homothyminePNA(2):homoadenine DNA/RNA triplexes and mixed base sequence duplexes with target cDNA or RNA. They show a higher binding to DNA relative to that with isosequential RNA.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF