Folate receptor (FR) is overexpressed in various cancer cells while its expression in normal cells is restricted. The present study provides a new folic acid/folate (FA) functionalized nanomaterials to sense and the differentiation of the cancer cells from normal ones. The reported nanoprobe is based on the mesoporous materials that are functionalized with FA to specify the FR overexpressed cancerous cells. MCF 7 cell lines were used as a model to show the ability of the developed probe for cancer cell detection. The selective binding of FA to FR-positive cells causes the endocytosis of the mesoporous materials into the cells where it can be observed by fluorescence microscopy images. The specific nature of the binding of the FA functionalized mesoporous silica prevents the false detection of normal cells from cancerous cells even in the presence of each other. The cytotoxicity of the n-Pr-NH₂-MCM 41-FA on the MCF 7 cells was investigated using MTT assay. The reported method can detect the MCF 7 cells from 100 to 1000 cells/mL. This method provides a selective and nontoxic approach towards detection of breast cancer cell lines while it can be developed as a point of care (POC) device for early detection of cancer. Finally, the MCF 7 cancer cells were treated with doxorubicin anti-cancer drug and our device detect the trace amount of MCF 7 based on their electrochemical activity.

叶酸受体（FR）在多种癌细胞中过表达，而其在正常细胞中的表达受到限制。本研究提供了一种新的叶酸/叶酸（FA）功能化的纳米材料，以感测和区分癌细胞与正常细胞的分化。报道的纳米探针基于用FA功能化以指定FR过表达的癌细胞的中孔材料。MCF 7细胞系被用作模型来显示开发的探针用于癌细胞检测的能力。FA与FR阳性细胞的选择性结合导致介孔材料向细胞内吞，在其中可以通过荧光显微镜图像观察到。FA官能化的中孔二氧化硅的结合的特定性质防止了即使癌细胞彼此存在也能从癌细胞中误检测正常细胞。n-Pr-NH的细胞毒性使用MTT测定法研究了MCF 7细胞上的₂ -MCM 41-FA。报告的方法可以检测100至1000个细胞/ mL的MCF 7细胞。该方法为乳腺癌细胞系的检测提供了一种选择性且无毒的方法，同时它可以被开发为一种用于早期检测癌症的护理点（POC）设备。最后，用阿霉素抗癌药处理了MCF 7癌细胞，我们的设备根据其电化学活性检测了痕量的MCF 7。