Antibody-functionalized fluid-permeable surfaces for rolling cell capture at high flow rates

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cell Biology
• Microfluidics

Background:

• Adhesion-based cell capture in microfluidic devices is crucial for diagnostics and in vitro assays.
• Current platforms are limited by interfacial phenomena at low Reynolds numbers.
• In vivo, porous vasculature efficiently captures cells during inflammation, stem cell trafficking, and cancer metastasis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel microfluidic surface for enhanced cell capture.
• To investigate the efficacy of porous, antibody-functionalized surfaces for cell isolation.
• To overcome limitations of existing solid-surface microfluidic devices.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a porous, fluid-permeable surface.
• Functionalization of the surface with cell-specific antibodies.
• Testing cell capture efficiency and selectivity under various flow conditions.

Main Results:

• The porous surface architecture enhanced cell transport towards the surface.
• Reduced shear forces promoted gentle cell rolling and arrest.
• Achieved highly effective cell capture at flow rates over ten times higher than conventional solid surfaces.

Conclusions:

• Porous, antibody-functionalized surfaces enable efficient and selective in vitro cell capture.
• This architecture offers significant advantages over traditional solid surfaces in microfluidic devices.
• The enhanced cell capture method has broad implications for biomedical diagnostics and research.