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Clinical Microfluidic Chip Platform for the Isolation of Versatile Circulating Tumor Cells
Published on: October 13, 2023
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Flexible micro spring array device for high-throughput enrichment of viable circulating tumor cells
Ramdane A Harouaka1, Ming-Da Zhou, Yin-Ting Yeh
1Micro & Nano Integrated Biosystem (MINIBio) Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Materials Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA;
Clinical Chemistry
|October 18, 2013
Summary
A new flexible micro spring array (FMSA) device efficiently enriches viable circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from whole blood, improving cancer detection and analysis. This method offers higher capture efficiency and viability than existing systems.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Biomedical Engineering
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Metastasis, driven by circulating tumor cells (CTCs), causes most cancer deaths.
- CTCs are valuable prognostic biomarkers.
- Enriching viable CTCs aids cancer diagnosis and treatment selection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel flexible micro spring array (FMSA) device.
- To achieve antigen-independent enrichment of viable CTCs.
- To improve CTC isolation for enhanced cancer diagnostics.
Main Methods:
- Designed a flexible micro spring array (FMSA) device for CTC enrichment.
- Minimized cell damage using micro-scale flexible structures for improved viability.
- Evaluated device performance including capture efficiency, leukocyte enrichment, viability, and proliferability.
Main Results:
- The FMSA device achieved 90% capture efficiency and >10^4 enrichment from 7.5-mL whole blood in under 10 minutes.
- Demonstrated over 80% CTC viability and detected CTCs in 76% of clinical samples, outperforming the CellSearch® system (22%).
- The device showed no clogging in over 100 whole blood samples, indicating high throughput and reliability.
Conclusions:
- The FMSA device is a versatile platform for viable CTC enrichment.
- Enables analysis of CTCs from clinically relevant blood volumes.
- Offers a promising approach for improved cancer diagnosis and personalized treatment.
