Fluorescently labeled cell showing the cell body in green, the cytoskeleton in blue, the cell nucleus in yellow, and actin focal-adhesion rings wrapped around surface-fixed particles. Credit: Chalom Zemmour/Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at HUJI

 

Aggressive cancer cells can now be identified in a simple, new way; by how they physically behave, not just by their genes. Using specially textured Meta surfaces pattered with tiny immobilized particles, Hebrew University researchers found that aggressive cancer cells grip more strongly, swallow more particles, and change shape in ways that less aggressive cells do not, differences that standard flat lab tests completely miss. This matters, because it offers a fast, label-free and potentially low-cost method to distinguish aggressive cancer cells, improves our understanding of how cancer spreads, and opens the door to new diagnostic and research tools that could better predict which cancers are most likely to metastasize.

 

Watching cancer cells through physical behavior

A new study reveals a simple and fast, label-free way to distinguish aggressive cancer cells, from regular cells and less agressive cancer cells, by how they physically behave, not by analyzing their genes or chemical markers, but by observing how they physically interact with their environment.

The research, published in Materials Today Bio, was led by the PhD. Student Chalom Zemmour under the mentorship of Prof. Ofra Benny from the School of Pharmacy at the Hebrew University. It introduces a new technology that uses specially designed microscopic pattered surfaces to act as a kind of “mechanical sensor” for cancer aggressiveness.

 

Cancer cells reveal their true nature

Cancer cells are typically classified using molecular and genetic tests. While powerful, these methods can be expensive, time-consuming, and sometimes fail to capture how dangerous a cell truly is. Aggressive cancer cells, those capable of spreading to other organs, often look similar to less harmful cells under standard laboratory conditions.

The new method takes a different approach.

Instead of asking what molecules cancer cells express, the researchers asked: how do cancer cells behave physically when interacting with their environment?

To answer this, the team created special surfaces patterned with tiny plastic beads creating nano and micro topographies thousands of times smaller than a grain of sand, forming a textured landscape invisible to the naked eye. When cancer cells are placed on these surfaces, their behavior changes depending on how aggressive they are.

More aggressive cancer cells grip the surface more strongly, swallow more of the microscopic particles and stretch and wrap themselves around the tiny features

Less aggressive cells behave very differently—even though these differences are undetectable on ordinary flat lab surfaces.

 

A new window into metastasis

The study also revealed something unexpected about metastasis, the process by which cancer spreads.

The researchers found that the special surfaces could differentiate between cells with varying metastatic stages. This is because, in the body, cancer cells temporarily lose their ability to strongly adhere after leaving the primary tumour, possibly helping them to travel through the body. However, upon reaching a new site, these cells regain their strong adhesion and mechanical activity.

“This tells us that that aggressiveness is not a fixed trait and we can have a sensitive technology to measure it” explains Prof. Benny. “It’s a functional state that can be revealed through physical behavior, not just molecular signatures.”

 

“Aggressiveness is not a fixed trait and we can have a sensitive technology to measure it. It’s a functional state that can be revealed through physical behavior, not just molecular signatures". - Prof. Ofra Benny.

 

Simple, accessible, and potentially clinical

One of the major advantages of the new method is its simplicity. It does not require dyes, labels, or complex genetic analysis. The surfaces can be produced using standard laboratory techniques and are compatible with imaging and molecular tests already used in research and clinical labs.

Because of this, the technology could eventually be adapted for rapid screening of cancer cell aggressiveness, research on metastasis and tumor progression and drug testing and personalized cancer treatment.

 

Rethinking how we identify dangerous cancer

The study highlights a growing shift in cancer research—moving beyond purely molecular analysis toward functional and mechanical characteristics of cells.

“Our work shows that how cancer cells push, pull, and grip their surroundings can tell us a great deal about how dangerous they are,” says Prof. Benny. “This opens a new path for cancer diagnostics that is both powerful and surprisingly simple.”

 

The research paper titled “Colloid-patterned surfaces distinguish malignant mechanophenotypes” is now available in Materials Today Bio and can be accessed here.