1. Assessing nanomedical system (NMS) targeting at the single cell level
1. Fluorescent labeling of NMSs
2. First estimates of NMS binding by fluorescence microscopy
3. Internal of external binding by confocal microscopy
4. Single-cell image/confocal analysis
5. Flow cytometric quantitation of NMS binding to specific cell types
2. Image confocal analysis of NMS binding to single cells
1. Ability to scan/locate cells of interest
2. Photobleaching challenges
3. Optical sectioning for 3D location of NMSs on/within cells
3. A quick overview of flow cytometry
1. Basic principles
2. Capabilities and limitations
3. Use for assessing specificity and sensitivity
4. Rare-event analysis of NMS targeting to desired cells
1. Basic concepts of rare-event analysis
2. Strategies for rare cell detection
3. More advanced flow cytometry for ultra-rare cell detection
4. Examples of rare cell detection
5. Rare cell sampling statistics

• Leary, J.F.: "Strategies for Rare Cell Detection and Isolation" In: Methods in Cell Biology: Flow Cytometry (Edited by Z. Darzynkiewicz, J.P. Robinson, H.A. Crissman), vol. 42: pp. 331-358, 1994.
• Leary, J.F. "Ultra High Speed Cell Sorting" Cytometry Part A 67A:76–85 (2005)
• Rosenblatt, J.A., Hokanson, J.A., McLaughlin, S.R., Leary, J.F.: A Theoretical Basis for Sampling Statistics Appropriate for the Detection and Isolation of Rare Cells Using Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting Cytometry 26: 1-6; 1997

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• James Leary (2007), "BME 695N Lecture 6: Rare-event targeting of cells in-vitro and in-vivo," http://nanohub.org/resources/3240.

1. biomedical engineering 1
2. nanomedicine 1