Fully automated circulating tumor cell isolation platform with large-volume capacity based on lab-on-a-disc

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Microfluidics
• Cancer Diagnostics

Background:

• Circulating tumor cell (CTC) isolation is crucial for cancer diagnostics.
• Current methods often lack full automation and high purity.
• Advancing CTC analysis requires a
• bench-to-bedside
• technology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel centrifugal microfluidic platform for fully automated CTC isolation.
• To achieve high purity CTCs for molecular analysis from large blood volumes.
• To enable CTC analysis for personalized cancer treatment.

Main Methods:

• A centrifugal microfluidic disc platform with a triangular obstacle structure (TOS) for blood cell manipulation.
• CTC isolation using anti-EpCAM microbeads and a density gradient medium (DGM).
• Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to optimize DGM chamber design.
• EGFR mutation analysis on isolated HCC827 lung cancer cells.

Main Results:

• The platform successfully isolated CTCs from 5 mL of whole blood within 78 minutes.
• High purity achieved with minimal contamination (approx. 12 leukocytes/mL).
• EGFR mutation successfully detected in isolated lung cancer cells via PCR clamping and direct sequencing.

Conclusions:

• The developed centrifugal microfluidic disc platform offers a fully automated and high-purity solution for CTC isolation.
• This technology facilitates rare cell analysis for personalized cancer diagnostics and treatment.
• The platform demonstrates potential for clinical application in cancer patient management.