Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunocytochemistry (ICC) are widely used to identify cancerous cells within tissues and cell cultures. Even though the optical microscopy evaluation is considered the gold standard, the limited range of useful labels and narrow multiplexing capabilities create an imminent need for alternative readout techniques. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) enables large-scale multi-elemental analysis of the surface of biological samples, e.g., thin section or cell pellet. It is, therefore, a potential alternative for IHC and ICC readout of various labels or tags (Tag-LIBS approach). Here, we introduce Tag-LIBS as a method for the specific determination of HER2 biomarker. The cell pellets were labeled with streptavidin-conjugated upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP) through a primary anti-HER2 antibody and a biotinylated secondary antibody. The LIBS scanning enabled detecting the characteristic elemental signature of yttrium as a principal constituent of UCNP, thus indirectly providing a reliable way to differentiate between HER2-positive BT-474 cells and HER2-negative MDA-MB-231 cells. The comparison of results with upconversion optical microscopy and luminescence intensity scanning confirmed that LIBS is a promising alternative for the IHC and ICC readout.

Central European Institute of Technology Brno University of Technology Purkyňova 656 123 612 00 Brno Czech Republic

Central European Institute of Technology Masaryk University Kamenice 5 625 00 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Biochemistry Faculty of Science Masaryk University Kamenice 5 625 00 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Chemistry Faculty of Science Masaryk University Kamenice 5 625 00 Brno Czech Republic

Institute of Analytical Chemistry Chemo and Biosensors University of Regensburg Universitätsstraße 31 93040 Regensburg Germany

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