Patent ID: 7309316

Claim:
A method of obtaining from a patient a biopsy sample enriched for diseased cells comprising: injecting through a biopsy cannulae into a biopsy site of the patient superparamagnetic nanoparticles having a receptor for a specific target of interest of a diseased cell; incubating the superparamagnetic nanoparticles injected into the biopsy site within the patient to produce one or more superparamagnetic nanoparticle/diseased cell complexes when the target expressed on the surface of the diseased cell binds specifically to the receptor on the nanoparticle; placing a magnetizable rod through the cannulae and into the biopsy site such that the end of the magnetizable rod partially extends past the cannulae and into the biopsy site to collect superparamagnetic nanoparticle/diseased cell complexes directly form the biopsy site when the rod is magnetized; magnetizing the rod; removing from the cannulae the magnetized rod with the superparamagnetic nanoparticles/diseased cell complexes magnetically attached to the rod; and obtaining the biopsy sample enriched for diseased cells from the patient.