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Clinical Microfluidic Chip Platform for the Isolation of Versatile Circulating Tumor Cells
Published on: October 13, 2023
A label-free DC impedance-based microcytometer for circulating rare cancer cell counting
Hyoungseon Choi1, Kwang Bok Kim, Chang Su Jeon
1Interdisciplinary Program, Bioengineering Major, Seoul National University, 28 Yongon-dong, Chongno-gu, Seoul, Korea.
Lab on a Chip
|January 24, 2013
Summary
A new label-free microcytometer detects circulating tumor cells (CTCs) using DC impedance. This technology efficiently identifies CTCs in blood samples, regardless of biomarkers, aiding cancer diagnosis and monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Oncology
- Microfluidics
Background:
- Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are crucial biomarkers for cancer progression, treatment response, and diagnosis.
- Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) causes CTCs to lose EpCAM, necessitating label-free detection methods.
- Current CTC detection methods often rely on specific biomarkers, limiting their scope.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a novel label-free microcytometer for quantifying circulating tumor cells (CTCs).
- To assess the efficiency of the device in detecting CTCs from cancer cell lines and patient blood samples.
- To demonstrate a facile and rapid method for CTC evaluation independent of biomarkers.
Main Methods:
- A DC impedance-based microcytometer utilizing polyelectrolytic gel electrodes (PGEs) was designed.
- The system exploits differences in size between CTCs and blood cells for detection.
- Low DC voltages were applied to measure changes in DC impedance.
Main Results:
- The microcytometer achieved 88% efficiency in counting spiked ovarian cancer cells (OVCAR-3) in blood at a flow rate of 13 μl/min without dilution.
- CTCs were successfully detected in 100% (24 out of 24) of examined breast cancer patient blood samples.
- The device demonstrated effective CTC quantification irrespective of cell surface biomarkers.
Conclusions:
- The developed DC impedance-based microcytometer offers a promising label-free approach for CTC quantification.
- This technology provides a fast, facile, and biomarker-independent method for CTC evaluation in cancer patients.
- The microcytometer has significant potential for improving cancer diagnosis, monitoring, and therapeutic assessment.
