I don't really have an answer. Can someone please help to proffer solution to the question.

Dear Christinanah,

the correct answer is hard to find. I am of the opinion that maybe glycerol acetates might be rlatively good starting point. The question is the solublity of non-polar cell compounds in the in mono-, di- or triacetate. The problem might be also in high viscosity and ceratain polarity of any of them.

From less polar solvents you might test extraction with THF /tetrahydrofurane/, diethylether or nonpolar CH2Cl2.

I am affraid no one of the above solvents is innocouus to the cancer cells.

Tetramethyl silane, or better hexa hydrogen siloxane H3Si-O-SiH3 or its symmetric dimethyl analogue /if their boiling points are low enough/ should not represent too adverese environment for the cells.

From the physico-chemical point of view, maybe only supercritical extraction of the cells with CO2 could serve. However, the physical conditions of such an operation might not be quite innocuos. Best regards,

R.S.

Note: there may be another problem with the living cancer cells extraction. The problem is that living cells contain a quite fair amount of water and the cell walls do contain water either. Extraction of wet substrate with non-polar solvent cannot proceed as smoothly as that of the dried one. Maybe extraction of frozen living cells could be also a solution. The obstacle, however, can be the frozen protoplasma and thus limited transfer /mobility/ of low polar or non polar moieties from the cells into the extraction agent. Maybe you have a good reason not to disintegrate those cells prior to isolation of their non polar components.