Cell detachment: post-isolation challenges

Rare cells already have become established indicators for disease diagnosis, to help track prognosis, and in developing personalized therapy. Numerous techniques have been developed to effectively and specifically detect and sort rare cells and cell isolation techniques have gained much attention among researchers in the last few decades. Recent developments in nanotechnologies and microfluidics have been used with great promise towards these goals. The research emphasis has also shifted from simple detection with microfluidic devices to comprehensive isolation, collection and subsequent analysis with integrated and automated systems. The first challenge in post-isolation analysis is cell detachment from substrates, while keeping cells viable and unperturbed. In this review, various methods used for cell detachments are discussed. For effective cell sorting, the detachment is identified as critical criteria for selecting substrates and methods.