Screening for canine transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) by SERS-based quantitative urine cytology

The cellular fraction isolated from a urine sample is mixed with SERS Biotags (SBTs) that bind to cells based on the targeting peptide displayed, and scanned under the Raman microscope. The spectral data are analyzed by a classical least squares algorithm to extract the concentration of the biomarkers on each cell. The ratio of a biomarker specific to transitional carcinoma cells to a universal control that binds all cells equally allows for their classification into cancerous and non-cancerous.292