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Cell Capture Using a Microfluidic Device
Published on: October 1, 2007
Biopolymer system for cell recovery from microfluidic cell capture devices
Ajay M Shah1, Min Yu, Zev Nakamura
1Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachussets Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.
Analytical Chemistry
|March 15, 2012
Summary
Researchers developed a novel sacrificial hydrogel coating for microfluidic chips. This coating allows for highly efficient and innocuous recovery of captured cells, such as circulating tumor cells, without affecting their viability.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Materials Science
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Microfluidic systems offer promise for isolating specific cells, like circulating tumor cells (CTCs), from complex biological samples such as whole blood.
- Current limitations in microfluidic cell isolation include the lack of effective and non-damaging methods for recovering surface-bound cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a biofunctional sacrificial hydrogel coating for microfluidic chips.
- To enable efficient and innocuous release of affinity-captured cells from microfluidic devices.
- To assess the impact of the cell capture and release process on cell viability and downstream applications.
Main Methods:
- A covalently cross-linked alginate biopolymer hydrogel was designed as a sacrificial coating for microfluidic chips.
- The hydrogel's stability in various physiological solutions, including EDTA-treated whole blood, was evaluated.
- Cell release was achieved through rapid degradation of the hydrogel using alginate lyase.
- The capture and release of EpCAM-expressing cancer cells were performed, followed by assessments of cell viability, proliferative potential, and compatibility with immunostaining and FISH analysis.
Main Results:
- The sacrificial hydrogel coating demonstrated high stability in physiological solutions.
- An efficient cell release rate of 99% ± 1% was achieved following hydrogel dissolution.
- The capture and release process had no significant adverse effects on cancer cell viability or proliferative capacity.
- Recovered cells were suitable for downstream molecular analyses, including immunostaining and Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH).
Conclusions:
- A novel biofunctional sacrificial hydrogel coating provides a robust solution for innocuous cell recovery in microfluidic affinity-based isolation.
- This technology significantly improves the utility of microfluidic devices for isolating and analyzing precious cells like CTCs.
- The developed method preserves cell integrity, enabling comprehensive downstream characterization crucial for diagnostics and research.
