Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Chemistry

Committee Chair

Xiaohua Huang

Committee Member

Daniel Nascimento

Committee Member

Paul Simone

Committee Member

Thang Hoang

Committee Member

Yongmei Wang

Abstract

Gold and magnetic-based hybrid nanoparticles have demonstrated their usefulness in the biomedical field due to their ability to multitask including combined optical and magnetic properties, ease of surface modification, biocompatibility, and synthesis versatility. These physical and chemical properties have allowed the development of new applications in the medical field, such as therapeutic and detection of biological markers. Our research has focused on the development of gold and magnetic-based hybrid nanoparticles for early detection, quantification, and classification of circulating biomarkers. Circulating markers are composed of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), circulating tumor cells, extracellular vesicles, and proteins. The clinical significance of these biomarkers has proved advantageous in the diagnosis of different diseases. For instance, due to the fact that circulating biomarkers are mainly found in the cardiovascular, exocrine, or urinary systems, a simple, non-invasive approach can be achieved. Secondly, these biomarkers have proven to have clinical value as an early diagnostic tool. Biomarkers like circulating tumor cells or extracellular vesicles can be released in the cancer metastasis cascade in early stages even before the tumor is detectable by imaging techniques. These markers contain molecular information from the primary tumor site by mimicking its properties. This can be useful for early detection, personalized treatment, prognosis, and real-time monitoring, ultimately improving the patient's outcome. In this dissertation, we examine the properties and clinical significance of the circulating tumor cells as a tool for cancer diagnosis. We also explore the different uses of plasmonic and magnetic-based nanoparticles in the medical field. We report the method developed by our group for the capture, detection, and classification of multiple subtypes of breast cancer by immuno-targeting and surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy. This method combines the usage of a gap-enhanced magnetic core with two gold shells, Raman, fluorescence, and machine learning for the multiplex detection and classification of surface proteins on circulating tumor cells. Finally, we explore a five-color targeting approach using integrins as biological markers and gap-enhanced gold nanorod core-shell nanoparticles. In this study, we explore the different effects of reagents during the gap-enhanced gold nanorod synthesis in order to achieve the optimal size and surface-enhanced Raman scattering signal. We also expanded selectivity capabilities to target five surface markers in four subtypes of breast cancer.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.”

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest.

Notes

Open Access

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