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Updated: Apr 15, 2026
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Rapid Isolation of Viable Circulating Tumor Cells from Patient Blood Samples
Published on: June 15, 2012
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Acoustic separation of circulating tumor cells
Peng Li1, Zhangming Mao1, Zhangli Peng2
1Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
Summary
Researchers developed a novel acoustic microfluidic device for high-throughput isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from patient blood. This label-free method enhances cancer research and diagnostics by efficiently recovering viable CTCs.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Microfluidics
- Acoustic Cell Sorting
Background:
- Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are crucial biomarkers for understanding cancer metastasis and prognosis.
- Current methods for isolating rare CTCs from blood face limitations in throughput, viability preservation, and clinical sample applicability.
- Acoustic-based cell sorting offers label-free, contact-free isolation but has been hindered by technical constraints for rare CTC detection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a high-throughput, label-free acoustic microfluidic device for efficient isolation of viable circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from clinical blood samples.
- To overcome previous technical limitations and enhance the throughput of acoustic-based CTC separation methods.
- To validate the device's efficacy in separating various cancer cell lines and CTCs from patient blood samples.
Main Methods:
- Development of a microfluidic device utilizing tilted-angle standing surface acoustic waves for cell separation.
- Parametric numerical simulations to optimize device geometry, tilt angle, and achieve high cell throughput.
- Validation using low concentrations of cancer cell lines co-cultured with white blood cells (WBCs) and subsequent testing with breast cancer patient blood samples.
Main Results:
- Achieved high-throughput separation of CTCs, with throughput over 20 times higher than previous acoustic devices.
- Demonstrated successful separation of diverse cancer cell lines from WBCs with a recovery rate exceeding 83%.
- Successfully isolated CTCs from peripheral blood samples of breast cancer patients using the developed acoustic method.
Conclusions:
- The developed acoustic-based microfluidic device enables high-throughput, label-free isolation of viable CTCs.
- This technology presents a significant advancement for cancer research, diagnostics, and therapeutic monitoring.
- The device's biocompatibility, simple design, and automated operation make it a promising tool for clinical applications.
