M. BORIS ROTMAN

 

Ph.D., University of Illinois, 1952

Professor of Medical Science.

Biomed Center 093

Phone: 863-3257

Email: [email protected]

  Research Summary:

Analytical Systems

Our laborabory is currently focused on developing unique analytical systems based on using microorganisms as nanosensors. One of the systems - termed BCR (Bacterial Chain Reaction) - used bacteria for detecting individual tumor cells present in extremely low numbers in the peripheral blood or bone marrow of some cancer patients. The presence and number of tumor cells disseminated in blood or bone marrow of cancer patients has been shown to have significant clinical implications. In the BCR, bacteria serve to amplify and visualize signals from molecular bioprobes such as antibodies, binding proteins, lectins, and oligonucleotides. Unlike conventional enzyme-linked amplification systems in which the amount of enzyme is a constant parameter, in the BCR an enzyme (penicillinase) is used to trigger a proliferative chain reaction producing an exponential increase in enzyme. The detection limits and specificity of BCR have been determined using a model system designed to detect and enumerate MCF-7 (a human breast adenocarcinoma cell line) cells disseminated at extremely low frequency (e.g., one tumor cell per million normal cells) among monocluclear cells of human peripheral blood. The system is capable of detecting tumor cells at a frequency of 2 X 10 -7.

  Publications:

Rotman, B., Guzman, R., and Craig, A.J. Sensitivity and specificity of in situ Bacterial Chain Reaction (BCR) in detecting sparse human tumor cells in peripheral blood. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 229: 80-85. (1996).

 

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