CTCNet: a fine-grained classification network for fluorescence images of circulating tumor cells.

The identification and categorization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in peripheral blood are imperative for advancing cancer diagnostics and prognostics. The intricacy of various CTCs subtypes, coupled with the difficulty in developing exhaustive datasets, has impeded progress in this specialized domain. To date, no methods have been dedicated exclusively to overcoming the classification challenges of CTCs.

Insight into ultrasensitive and high-stability flocculation-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for the noninvasive probing of cupping effect substances.

The aggregation of nanoparticles is the key factor to form hot spots for the flocculation-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (FLERS) method. However, the structure of flocculation is still not clear. It is therefore necessary to explore and analyze the aggregation process of nanoparticles more carefully, so as to realize a better application of FLERS.

Controlling the Shrinkage of 3D Hot Spot Droplets as a Microreactor for Quantitative SERS Detection of Anticancer Drugs in Serum Using a Handheld Raman Spectrometer.

Quantitative measurement is one of the ultimate targets for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), but it suffers from difficulties in controlling the uniformity of hot spots and placing the target molecules in the hot spot space. Here, a convenient approach of three-phase equilibrium controlling the shrinkage of three-dimensional (3D) hot spot droplets has been demonstrated for the quantitative detection of the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in serum using a handheld Raman spectrometer. Droplet shrinkage, triggered by the shaking of aqueous nanoparticle (NP) colloids with immiscible oil chloroform (CHCl) after the addition of negative ions and acetone, not only brings the nanoparticles in close proximity but can also act as a microreactor to enhance the spatial enrichment capability of the analyte in plasmonic sites and thereby realize simultaneously controlling 3D hot spots and placing target molecules in hot spots.

General Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Method for Actively Capturing Target Molecules in Small Gaps.

Over the past decade, many efforts have been devoted to designing and fabricating substrates for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) with abundant hot spots to improve the sensitivity of detection. However, there have been many difficulties involved in causing molecules to enter hot spots actively or effectively. Here, we report a general SERS method for actively capturing target molecules in small gaps (hot spots) by constructing a nanocapillary pumping model.