Rapid isolation of cancer cells using microfluidic deterministic lateral displacement structure

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Microfluidics
• Cancer Cell Biology

Background:

• Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are crucial biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and monitoring.
• Current methods for CTC isolation often require labeling or are inefficient.
• Microfluidic devices offer potential for precise cell manipulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a microfluidic device for rapid, label-free isolation and enrichment of CTCs.
• To assess the efficiency of deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) arrays for cancer cell separation.
• To demonstrate the platform's utility in both cell solutions and whole blood samples.

Main Methods:

• Design and fabrication of a microfluidic device featuring deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) arrays.
• Utilizing size-dependent hydrodynamic forces for cell separation.
• Experimental validation and theoretical simulation of isolation efficiency for various cancer cell types.
• Testing both circular and triangular post array configurations.

Main Results:

• The microfluidic DLD device achieved high cancer cell isolation efficiency.
• Demonstrated significant enrichment factors for cancer cells from diluted blood samples.
• Both circular and triangular post arrays proved effective for cancer cell separation.
• The optimized DLD design enhanced performance.

Conclusions:

• The developed microfluidic DLD platform enables efficient and label-free separation of CTCs.
• This technology holds great promise for fundamental research and clinical applications involving CTCs.
• The device facilitates improved detection and analysis of circulating tumor cells.