DU Engineering Professor Develops Game-Changing Device for Detecting Cancer Cells

Detecting malignant cells is a crucial first step in improving health outcomes for the approximately 2 million Americans diagnosed with cancer each year. 

That's why Dali Sun, associate professor in the Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science, and fellow researchers, supported by a $150,000 grant from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, are developing a new, miniature elliptical dichroism spectrometer, a device that determines the structure and amount of molecules by measuring how they absorb polarized light.

Such a device is used to detect cancer cells, a job that has traditionally required the use of a circular dichroism (CD) spectrometer, which takes up a lot of space—requiring a table for the machine, a nitrogen tank and a computer to run—costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and requires specialized training to operate. 

While the CD spectrometer is an accurate way for labs to differentiate between cancer and non-cancer cells, Sun says, “You can really only use it for research because it's too big and it's too expensive. Even hospitals cannot equip them.” 

The need for a more portable device is what drove Sun and his team to begin developing the miniature spectrometer. With the addition of an innovative approach that combines structural and absorption analysis—allowing researchers to understand the shape and amount of a molecule—a compact design and a far lower cost, the device is shaping up to be a game changer.

The device relies on an innovative approach, combining elliptical dichroism spectrometry with autocorrelation analysis, a mathematical method used to measure how molecules interact with light over time. This function allows the spectrometer to calculate how much of a molecule is present without relying on Beer’s Law, which states that the concentration of molecules in a solution is proportional to the amount of light the solution will absorb. The law has been the basis of absorption analysis calculations for more than a century. 

“Other spectrometers on the market can typically do one or the other [structural or absorption analysis],” Sun says. “We have both.”

Despite its two-in-one feature, Sun’s spectrometer is small. The prototype, built in house using 3D-printed components, is smaller than a shoebox. Compared to traditional CD spectrometers that require their own corner of a lab for semi-permanent installation, Sun’s device fits neatly on a lab table and can be moved around or put away as needed.

And with a target price of $1,000, it costs up to 300 times less than a traditional spectrometer. By lowering the barrier to entry, Sun hopes that the new spectrometer will be as accessible as possible, equipping a wide range of researchers, students and entrepreneurs with the tools to study cells and molecules quickly and accurately.

Sun sees potential applications in chemistry and biochemistry labs, hospitals and science classrooms across the country. “It's not only for one lab; it's for anyone doing molecular study or even a cellular study,” Sun says.

“It’s small enough, low enough cost and easy enough to operate that even a high school biology or chemistry class could use this equipment to actually see that there's a structural difference between molecules, so students can gain a better understanding.”